Swine flu back in Hyderabad?

[Arkanoid Legent]

HYDERABAD: It seems the dreaded swine flu is back. A 23-year-old woman with swine flu like symptoms, was admitted to the swine flu ward of the Government Chest Hospital on Wednesday, even as doctors and district medical officials warned swine flu may spread during winter. This is the first suspected case since onset of winter though there were many people who approached hospitals, with common flu symptoms due to climate change.


The woman, a resident of Chaderghat locality was admitted to the hospital suffering from cold, cough and body pains since past one week. ?The patient has been admitted to the Outpatient unit. We have collected samples and she is being screened at the swine flu ward.

The report will be out tomorrow,? Dr SV Prasad, hospital superintendent told Expresso. He, however, said none knew how lethal swine flu could be in future.

During the rainy and winter season, swine flu is likely to spread, according to Dr Prasad.

Every season, 10 per cent of the population is affected with common flu but it would be a cause to worry if the number rises to 25-30 percent in coming days. ?We need a database of people affected with swine flu in the twin cities, to check for any unusual outbreak,? Dr Prasad said.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/hyderabad/swine-flu-back-in-hyderabad/224064.html

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Swine flu back in Hyderabad?

Some of the Southern and Eastern States receive moisture from September to March in what's called the North East monsoon;

"The northeast monsoon, which begins in September, lasts through the post-monsoon seasons, and only ends in March, carries winds that have already lost their moisture while crossing central Asia and the vast rain shadow region lying north of the Himalayas. They cross India diagonally from northeast to southwest. However, the large indentation made by the Bay of Bengal into India's eastern coast means that the flows are humidified before reaching Cape Comorin and rest of Tamil Nadu, meaning that the state, and also some parts of Kerala, experience significant precipitation in the post-monsoon and winter periods.[15] However, parts of West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and North-East India also receive minor precipitation from the northeast monsoon."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_India

Here's confirmed case data from last year (I'll update to November later);