Jammu & Kashmir Influenza 2015, 26 fatalities

[Ronan Kelly]

Swine Flu: Nowhatta lady succumbs
CITY March 25, 2015
Precious Kashmir News
Srinagar, Mar 24: One more person died due to H1N1 infection in Srinagar while as total number of infected people has reached to 394.
A 55 year old lady died who was admitted in SKIMS on March 4 after tested positive for H1N1.
The lady according to a SKIMS statement was from Nowhatta area of the city had associated co-morbidities in form of CKD( chronic Kidney disease).
...
http://www.preciouskashmir.com/swine-flu-nowhatta-lady-succumbs/

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Swine flu deaths cross 2,000 mark
By PTI | 27 Mar, 2015, 10.02PM IST
...
The Jammu and Kashmir government said that 482 patients have been tested positive for H1N1 influenza in the state with seven suspected deaths.

In a reply to a joint question of several members in Legislative Council, Minister for Health Choudhary Lal Singh said that health institutions of the state have reported 26 deaths which include seven suspected deaths from H1N1 influenza.
Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Friday, April 3rd, 2015 | Author PTI
Swine flu: 11 more die, toll rises to 2,108
...
The death toll in Jammu and Kashmir has increased to 20 after one person died in Kashmir
...
​http://eprahaar.in/swine-flu-11-more-die-toll-rises-to-2108/

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Swine flu on decline, vaccines unused
SKIMS has 2,500 vaccines, Medical Superintendent says doctors not willing for vaccination
Combating H1N1
14 persons, including two pregnant women, who tested positive for H1N1, died at SKIMS since February 17
In February, 250-300 patients had visited the special pulmonary OPD set up at SKIMS to examine cases
401 cases of H1N1 infection reported in the Valley till now
30-40 patients visit the OPD every day and lesser number of swab samples are being sent to the testing laboratory at SKIMS
Bismah Malik
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, April 3
Over a month ago when swine flu scare was growing in Kashmir after the death of a 40-year-old Srinagar resident at the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, people had rushed to various hospitals to get vaccinated.
Doctors in Shri Maharja Hari Singh Hospital and SKIMS had protested shortage of vaccines as swine flu death toll kept on mounting. But now, after 26 people died due to the H1N1 influenza in the state, it has come to the fore that around 2,500 vaccines against the virus have been left unused as no one was willing get vaccinated.
...
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/jammu-kashmir/swine-flu-on-decline-vaccines-unused/62431.html

 

[Ronan Kelly]

No H1N1 test facilities in Kashmir this flu season
SKIMS, GMC labs not ready due to paucity of funds  Officials say will be operational ?by end of season?


ZEHRU NISSA
Srinagar, Publish Date: Sep 10 2015 11:02PM | Updated Date: Sep 10 2015 11:02PM
No H1N1 test facilities in Kashmir this flu season
Representational Picture
Despite claims of liberal funding from the state, H1N1 influenza (swine flu) testing laboratories are ill-equipped in Kashmir. While during the last flu season, Center for Disease Control-sponsored Influenza Project in SKIMS came to the rescue of people, till now no such facility has been put in place.

As per sources at SKIMS, the CDC sponsored Influenza Project would not be able to conduct tests this flu season due to shortage of funding. ?Last year, all the reagents meant for Influenza Surveillance Project were consumed for mass screening of population. The government had promised that the cost of the reagents would be reimbursed. But no reimbursement happened and no fresh reagents could be procured,? said a doctor at SKIMS.
...
Dr. Parvez Kaul, Incharge of H1N1 Influenza Project at SKIMS said, ?Actually, the flu season was never over in India this year. It had been simmering and now there seems to be another peak in the offing.?
...
http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/life-style/story/196338.html

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Doctors call for mandatory H1N1 vaccination of healthcare workers

Tribune News Service
Srinagar, September 22
The Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) has called for mandatory H1N1 vaccination of healthcare workers and schoolchildren, saying it would significantly diminish the chance of flu outbreak in the region.
?Mandatory flu vaccination will boost vaccination rates in these groups which will not only protect them but others in the community as well,? the DAK said in a statement while urging the authorities concerned to start vaccination drive in the regions.
...
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/ja...vaccination-of-healthcare-workers/136523.html

 

[Ronan Kelly]

H1N1 situation tricky in JK as no tests being conducted
SKIMS interim set-up bound to miss 75% cases
ZEHRU NISSA
Srinagar | Posted : Oct 2 2015 1:33AM | Updated: Oct 1 2015 11:43PM

The delay in setting up of testing facilities for H1N1 influenza (swine flu) has resulted in ambiguity regarding the current activity of the virus that killed more than 24 people in Kashmir last year and caused widespread panic. The government and the health authorities have resorted to patch work as no facilities are available for the masses who had to take the brunt of delayed government response when flu caught Kashmir napping.Cases of H1N1 influenza have been on the rise in many states India but no reports of positives from Kashmir have surfaced due to non-availability of testing facilities. The two premier health institutions, SKIMS and GMC, which had been entrusted the mandate of setting up laboratories to make testing facility available and also to take measures to safeguard populations against the virus, have no visible facilities in place.In a step that seems a desperate measure, SKIMS has reportedly resorted to the support of Rapid Influenza Diagnostic Tests (RIDT) in absence of the gold standard Rapid Time PCR testing facility. Medical Superintendent SKIMS, Dr. Farooq Jan said, ?We have 150 Rapid Test Kits available with us. We can do testing right away if there is a need.? He added that the Virology lab that will house the equipment for reliable testing of flu including H1N1 influenza will ?take a few weeks?.
...
- See more at: http://www.greaterkashmir.com/mobi/...ng-conducted/197782.html#sthash.vpZ90MZC.dpuf

Comment: No H1N1 deaths were reported in 2014 from Jammu & Kashmir. The deaths referred to in this article occurred from Jan-March 2015. I believe that the final count was 26. - Ro

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 20: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) today alleged that swine flu cases are on the rise in many parts of the country but Kashmir is clueless due to lack of H1N1 testing facilities.
The DAK president, Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan said the patients in hospitals are ?dying undiagnosed due to non availability of diagnostic facilities for H1N1 and other influenza viruses?. ?Many infectious diseases have similar presentations and influenza testing would solve the diagnostic dilemma for doctors. It is unethical to empirically treat a patient who is hospitalized to receive correct diagnosis based on laboratory confirmation,? he said.
He said the critically ill patients admitted in intensive care units of tertiary care hospitals ?die without diagnosis due to lack of influenza testing?. ?In a study conducted at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), thirty percent of patients hospitalized for pneumonias had unknown etiology that could have been influenza related in case the tests had been done,? he said.
...
http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/patients-dying-undiagnosed-due-to-lack-of-h1n1-testing-facility-dak/