Since August last week to September 16 this year, not only has the number of cases due to influenza A H1N1 risen, but also the mortality figure, leading to a panic mode in the peripheral area of Pune district. In September so far, the death toll due to swine flu has gone up to 10, according to figures released by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
Pune, which had less number of H1N1 deaths compared to its Pimpri-Chinchwad civic body counterpart, has suddenly seen a spike with September figure alone reportedly touching 10, and the total number of deaths this year registered at 13.
Dr Anjali Sabne, medical officer of health, PMC said, “We were awaiting the reports from the committee that decides whether a patient lost his life to the influenza A H1N1 infection or because of any other morbidity.” According to PMC health official, there are 31 patients currently on ventilator and treated for swine flu.
On the sudden rise in H1N1 infections in urban and rural areas, one of the senior doctors on anonymity alleged that it is because of the ‘weird’ rule of the state health department which is to only test a swab of a patient who is admitted and not of a the one who shows symptoms.
“Since a person is admitted or is in a critical state cannot himself report and give his swab to the national institute of virology (NIV) or the one that PMC has chosen that is Religare, how does the system expect the number of patients not to increase? They are not testing the ones who are reporting in the OPD and prescribing Tamiflu without checking the reports. This will not only give rise to Tamiflu resistance, but also severity of cases which is happening. People should be allowed to get their tests done when they are on the verge of developing the symptoms or have developed and reported in an OPD of a clinic so that critical cases and admissions due to the infection can be controlled,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Since a person is admitted or is in a critical state cannot himself report and give his swab to the national institute of virology (NIV) or the one that PMC has chosen that is Religare, how does the system expect the number of patients not to increase? They are not testing the ones who are reporting in the OPD and prescribing Tamiflu without checking the reports. This will not only give rise to Tamiflu resistance, but also severity of cases which is happening. People should be allowed to get their tests done when they are on the verge of developing the symptoms or have developed and reported in an OPD of a clinic so that critical cases and admissions due to the infection can be controlled,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}A sudden rise in mortality in peripheral areas of Pune district has also been observed. Dr Dilip Mane, district health officer, Pune district said, “We have seen a sudden spike in number of cases and severity in the last few weeks. The severely ill cases are getting reported and admitted late, which is causing the delay in treatment. The delay is leading to rise in mortality. We have registered five deaths in September and two in August this year, whereas the figure between January and July was zero. The sudden rise has led to fear and panic in taluka areas.”
“The infection has spread everywhere now. All the 13 talukas with us are affected, but deaths were reported from Mawal, Shirur, Mulshi, Khed and Puranadar. Earlier, reports of H1N1 cases were mainly coming from Baramati and Lonavla,” he said.
Dr AD Nandapurkar, civil surgeon, Pune district said, “We have been visiting the affected pockets in periphery. We have now deputed a surveillance team and are conducting workshops in all our hospitals.”
Similarly, the district health officer (DHO) team too has started conducting workshops and providing facilities of equipment, drugs and infection monitoring in all its primary health centres PHCs located in the peripheral areas, said Mane.
However, sources from the private hospitals’ fraternity have a different take on the situation. One of the senior infectious disease experts from King Edward Memorial Hospital said, “We admitted four to five cases in a day from Baramati suffering from Influenza A H1n1. There is definitely a spike in the number of critical cases that are coming from the outskirts of Pune.”
Another source from Ruby Hall Clinic claimed of seeing eight to ten admissions in a day last week who were all positive for H1N1 infection.