2nd swine flu wave grips Delhi, national toll 569

[Tonka]

http://www.themedguru.com/20091129/...e-grips-delhi-national-toll-569-86131256.html

2nd swine flu wave grips Delhi, national toll 569
by Jyoti Pal - November 29, 2009 New Delhi, November 29 -- The lethal swine flu virus accounted for three more deaths Saturday, taking the tally of fatalities due to the virus to 569 in the country.

Of the latest deaths, 2 were reported from the national capital Delhi while the 3rd was reported from the southern state of Kerala.

From various parts of the country, 139 fresh cases of infections were also reported on Saturday. The number of people who have contracted the virus till date has inched up to 17,868.

Delhi reported the highest number with 111 positive cases, including 73 children, while Maharashtra, the worst hit state due to the pandemic, reported 19 fresh cases.

?Till Friday, samples from 86,015 people have been tested for swine flu in government laboratories and a few private laboratories across the country and 20.6 per cent of them have been found positive,? confirmed a statement issued by the health ministry.

2nd wave sweeps capital
A second wave of the dreaded H1N1 is sweeping across the Capital. The situation was anticipated by experts as early as April, when the pandemic broke out in Mexico.

The new surge is associated with a fall in temperature. People have a tendency to crowd together in the winter season, thereby increasing the risk of spreading the flu.

"Things will go from bad to worse from now on because the virus will get an opportunity to genetically re- assort with other human strains," Dr A. K. Prasad, chairman of the Influenza Foundation of India, said.

The festival season coupled with the onset of the wedding season does not help the cause of thwarting the swine fu either.

"In such situations of overcrowding, it's impossible to stall the spread of respiratory tract infections," added Prasad.

What is really worrisome is that the spurt of cases has come at a time when news of swine flu mutations have been reported from other parts of the world, especially Europe.

Nothing to worry, say experts
Doctors have claimed that mutations should not be a cause for concern.

"Healthy people with effective immune responses should be able to resist this infection," Prasad said.

He noted that the current vaccine will still be effectual. Moreover, the capital was better equipped and better prepared to thwart the spread of the highly contagious virus.

"There was a delay in the arrival of test reports during the first wave because diagnostic facilities were limited. Now, we have five private laboratories which can carry out the tests. Moreover, treatment is now available in private hospitals also," Prasad assured.

 

[Tonka]

Re: 2nd swine flu wave grips Delhi, national toll 569

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/S.../Second+surge+of+swine+flu+batters+Delhi.html

A second wave of swine flu is sweeping across the Capital.

Heath officials have confirmed a daily rise of 10 per cent in the number of positive cases in the past one week.Dr Anjan Prakash, nodal officer for monitoring swine flu in Delhi, said 111 positive cases, including that of 73 children, were reported on Saturday alone.

Experts believe the new surge is linked to a drop in temperature. People tend to huddle in winter, increasing the risk of contracting the flu.

"Things will go from bad to worse from now on because the virus will get an opportunity to genetically re- assort with other human strains," Dr A. K. Prasad, chairman of the Influenza Foundation of India, said.

The ongoing festive and wedding season, which draws people together, helps the infection rate shoot up. The just-concluded trade fair could also be responsible for this spurt in H1N1 infection, according to Prasad. "In such situations of overcrowding, it's impossible to stall the spread of respiratory tract infections," he said.

Thankfully, the city could be better equipped to handle the second wave of H1N1. "There was a delay in the arrival of test reports during the first wave because diagnostic facilities were limited. Now, we have five private laboratories which can carry out the tests. Moreover, treatment is now available in private hospitals also," Prasad said. In fact, Moolchand Medcity, Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Indraprastha Apollo Hospital have allocated 20 beds each for swine flu patients.

Delhi, though, has another reason to worry. The rise in infections here comes at a time when news of swine flu mutations have been reported across Europe.

The most recent report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) states that 1,000 patients have died in the past week.

Two of these patients were infected by a mutation that was recently detected in Norway and died in France, according to the Indian government's Health Surveillance Institute.

According to a statement issued by the institute, the mutation could increase the ability of the virus to affect the respiratory tracts and, in particular, the lung tissue. Worryingly, one of these patients had a second mutation to contend with, known to confer resistance to Tamiflu, the only known preventive medication to treat H1N1.

Influenza type A is notorious for its tendency to mutate constantly.

But doctors said this was not necessarily a cause for concern.

"Healthy people with effective immune responses should be able to resist this infection," Prasad said, adding the current vaccine will still be effective.

More than 100 million swine flu shots have been administered in 40 countries. The side effects are similar to or lower than those from regular flu shots, Prasad added.

The WHO said it was investigating these reports and tried to allay fears about the mutations noticed in several countries. Dr.

Keiji Fukuda, WHO special adviser on pandemic influenza, said in the group with Tamiflu resistance, some people had compromised immunity due to cancer treatment, which made them more prone to develop resistant viruses when on Tamiflu.

But the mutant strain appears not to spread easily in people with normal immunity, like hospital workers. "We don't know the full answer, but it is more likely that we are not seeing a major shift," Fukuda added. "The question is whether these mutations again suggest that there is a fundamental change going on in viruses out there - whether there's a turn for the worse in terms of swine flu severity," he said.