Swine Flu Claims 185 Lives in Maharashtra

Swine flu has claimed as many as 185 lives in Maharashtra so far this year, a government official said. The highest number of 55 swine flu deaths since January this year were registered in Pune. H1N1 infection has been the cause of death for 185 people in Maharashtra from January 1 till May 8.

According to the Health Department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), five new cases of the swine flu has been reported form the beginning of the month to May 11. Dr. Padmaja Keskar, city’s Executive Health Officer said that most of the swine flu cases have been reported in private hospitals.

Dr. Keskar said that as the H1N1 cases are increasing, a standard procedure should be followed for treating patients.

“We need to follow certain guidelines for treating a swine flu patient as cases are increasing and doctors should also know what are the standard operating procedure,” said Dr. Keskar.

There has been a lot of fluctuation in the temperature, which is accelerating the infection," Joint Director of Family Welfare Mukund Diggikar, who holds the additional charge for epidemic diseases in Maharashtra Health Department, said. "There has been a slight variation in the symptoms of H1N1 infection.

Earlier, most of the common symptoms were cough, fever and cold. But a sizeable number of recent cases have found other complaints, such as stomach ache, loose motions and sore throat. "These symptoms might have existed earlier, but possibly not reported properly. We will have to wait for more such symptoms to ascertain the connection between these symptoms and H1N1 infection," Diggikar said.

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Source-Medindia