PUNE: The H1N1 virus is back with a vengeance in the state this year.The virus has infected 518 people and claimed 35 lives in January and February alone. In comparison, 15 cases and four deaths were reported in the two months of the previous year.Experts attributed the rise in the H1N1 cases and casualties to the cold wave conditions that prevailed in most parts of the country, including Maharashtra, during the winter. “Besides, depleting immunity among masses and co-circulation of other seasonal viruses, along with swine flu, are also among the contributing factors,” they said.Most of the cases and casualties were mainly seen in the Vidarbha region , along with Pune, Nashik, Mumbai and Thane. “We have intensified our surveillance across the state. Vaccination of vulnerable people, including pregnant women and those with diabetes and hypertension, is under way,” an official from the state health department, said.State surveillance officer Pradip Awate also blamed the cold wave conditions to the rise in H1N1 cases and deaths. “We witnessed the steep drop in temperature in most parts of the country, including Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir . This is one of the reasons why so many cases were recorded in January and February this year,” Awate said.Similarly, cold wave conditions prevailed in the Vidarbha region and most parts of the state, including Pune, Nashik and Kolhapur, between January and February.When compared, there were only a handful of cases and deaths between January and June last year. “The cases started soaring after August last year. The state had recorded most swine flu cases and deaths between August and November last year owing to wide fluctuation in day and night temperatures,” Awate said.The virus had claimed 461 lives and infected 2,593 people across the state in 2018.Since 2009 swine flu pandemic, the California strain of the virus (influenza A (H1N1) pdm09) had been doing the rounds in India. However, NIV scientists have been seeing only the Michigan strain of the H1N1 virus since 2018. The experts said the new strain could be behind the rise in cases and mortality, but it is yet to be proved scientifically. “The new strain is sensitive to oseltamivir drug (Tamiflu),” an NIV scientist said.

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