Swine Flu Outbreak in India: 2015

This year the total number of deaths owing to swine flu has doubled compared to earlier year taking the toll to 624. 

As per the latest report by Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, death toll has reached to be 812 in this year as of 22 February, 2015 in India

Dr. Suranjit Chatterjee, a senior consultant, internal medicine, at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, says "As it started getting warmer; we expected cases to come down. But this year the trend is different."

As per the Data assembled by Health Ministry, Rajasthan has reported 5,528 cases reported in total out of which 261 persons fell prey to the H1N1 virus. While in M.P, 1,010 people were affected by the virus and 153 lives were claimed. In Punjab disease has claimed 42 lives and in national capital number 10 persons has died whereas the no. of affected persons has risen to 2,891.

What is it?

Swine Flu (influenza) is a highly contagious virus, is a respiratory disease that was found affecting respiratory tract of pigs. Earlier the virus was spread only among pigs and has now become fatal even for humans. 

Influenza Virus is highly infectious and spread quickly between persons through mucus, saliva and air. Infected people must cover the nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing, as it can easily spread numerous germs over the air.

People who are most vulnerable to the disease includes pregnant women, adults above the age of 60, children below 3 years of age, people with some medical conditions like with lung disease, diabetes, asthma, or people with weak immunity system are at a higher risk. 

Symptoms

Swine flu has similar symptoms to any seasonal flu such as fever, vomiting, sore throat, headache, and in some cases diarrhea as well. If any person develops these symptoms, swine flu can only be diagnosed only through a test that is conducted in a specialized laboratory. Tamiflu, is the only recommended anti-viral drug that is used to treat swine flu among humans. Visit this blog to learn more about Swine Flu virus and it's prevention tips.