300 swine flu cases since January

Mumbai: Three hundred cases of swine flu were detected in Mumbai, whereas over 1,482 cases of H1N1 and 135 deaths were reported in Maharashtra from January 1 till date this year.

The state’s health department said that there had been a spurt in H1N1 cases due to climatic changes. Influenza virus causes swine flu - a respiratory infection, with symptoms such as cold, cough and fever - which generally spreads rapidly during winter.

The spread of swine flu in the state, including in the city, is still not under control. In Mumbai, 300 patients were infected with swine flu, and two people died due to swine flu. Many patients have died due to lack of timely treatment.

According to the state health department, 1,482 cases of swine flu have been reported in the first five months of this year, 79 per cent of which were given medical treatment. Of these, 178 patients are still being treated in hospitals. Nearly 333 patients have been registered from Nagpur. Nearly 33 swine flu deaths have been registered in Nashik.

Dr Pradip Awate, state surveillance officer, said, “The treatment of swine flu is done under the third category. The first group comprises patients with symptoms of swine flu; at the time, they do not need to be admitted to a hospital. For the second category of patients, swine flu tablets are started. For the third category, they are admitted to a hospital.”

Two to three per cent of swine flu patients in the state face the risk of death due to lack of treatment. However, medical experts fear that this rate may rise to nine per cent this year. Hence, doctors have expressed the need to reconsider the vaccination treatment for swine flu.