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Mumbai: Respiratory illness, not H1N1, "quite a few lives" lost

Ronan Kelly

Ronan Kelly

Retired 2020
Respiratory disease rise stumps docs
Sumitra Deb Roy, TNN, Dec 27, 2010, 06.18am IST

MUMBAI: City doctors are baffled with the increasing number of patients with respiratory ailments requiring hospitalisation. While they say there is around 25-30% increase in cases of upper respiratory ailments, a good 2-4% of these patients required urgent hospitalisation.

For instance, the Bombay Hospital at Marine Lines treated three patients in the last 10 days who had to be rushed to the intensive care unit after their lungs gave away. "These patients had otherwise healthy respiratory systems but suddenly developed problems and had to be put on ventilator," said dean Dr S Jayaram. "We have lost quite a few lives because of the same problem in the last couple of months," he added.

The reason healthy individuals are falling prey to respiratory problems is beyond the understanding of experts. A chest expert from a suburban hospital said that most of the samples were testing negative for seasonal viruses or bacteria. "These samples do not even have a trace of H1N1. It is really worrisome to not be able to find out what could be causing the cough or the respiratory problems," said the doctor. He added that not only had cases of upper respiratory chest infections increased, but there were also significant cases where the lung was damaged.

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Read more: Respiratory disease rise stumps docs - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ps-docs/articleshow/7170286.cms#ixzz19HDJQuVl
 
Re: Mumbai: Respiratory illness, not H1N1, "quite a few lives" lost

This had been suspected as Influenza B see this thread but the article above seems to rule out the usual seasonal suspects.
 
Re: Mumbai: Respiratory illness, not H1N1, "quite a few lives" lost

Seems very odd to not have any H1N1 in the entire city during winter. Perhaps testing is an issue...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-Mumbai-popping-pills/articleshow/7160576.cms


Party-pooper weather has Mumbai popping pills
Sumitra Deb Roy, TNN, Dec 25, 2010, 06.19am IST

MUMBAI: The weather is playing party pooper for Mumbaikars confining them to the sick bay, as the sudden dip in temperature and highly polluted air spreads respiratory ailments. Hospitals and nursing homes - both public and private - are witnessing a 10-15 % rise in admissions in the last few days due to asthma, pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea among others.

For instance, Veronica Mathias had to rush her son to the civicrun KEM Hospital on Tuesday after the two-year-old had several bouts of vomiting and severe stomach ache. The Ghatkopar resident got scared after the child's loose motions did not seem to subside even after a day and some medication. "He started looking pale and extremely weak," said Mathias. He showed some improvement after five bottles of intravenous fluids were administered . Mathias was hoping he would be discharged before Christmas but till Friday evening doctors were yet to give a go-ahead for that.

A senior doctor from the KEM Hospital's medicine department said parents have to be vigilant about diarrhoea among infants and toddlers during this season. "Children suffering from diarrhoea should be given plenty of fluids and oral rehydration solutions ," he said, adding the tertiary hospital has had close to 30 children seeking admission in the last few days. "Parents should be careful that children are not exposed to contaminated water or infected food," he said.

Upper respiratory tract ailments too have been wreaking havoc in the city with a good 5% of patients requiring hospitalisation . Kalyan couple R Sharma and his wife came to the PD Hinduja Hospital at Mahim on Monday after their three-year-old child came down with severe tonsillitis. He was taking antibiotics prescribed by a local doctor but his condition showed no improvement . Paediatrician Dr Asha Pherwani, treating the child, diagnosed that the child had pus in his tonsils. Dr Pherwani, who also specialises in asthma and allergic treatments, said her department has treated more than 100 children with asthma in one-and-a-half months. "More and more younger children are coming with complaints of asthma and breathlessness," she said.

Elderly patients too are finding it difficult to fight the daily fluctuating temperatures . S Sharma (70) had to be admitted to the ICU of Jaslok Hospital after he ignored his bronchial asthma for a while. As soon as he returned to the city after a wedding, his condition worsened due to a viral infection and he had to be rushed to the hospital. Infectious disease consultant Dr Om Srivastava of the hospital said patients should seek professional help urgently. Malaria has also managed to make its presence felt in the season of respiratory ailments. Executive health officer of BMC Dr Girish Ambe said over 2,800 people tested positive for malaria and one died.

"The situation is better than last month when there were 4,000 positive cases and four deaths," he said. But he assured there were no cases of H1N1 or dengue in the city.


Read more: Party-pooper weather has Mumbai popping pills - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...g-pills/articleshow/7160576.cms#ixzz19JD0bWvi
 
Re: Mumbai: Respiratory illness, not H1N1, "quite a few lives" lost

Thank you, RoRo, for continuing to track this.

That information is interesting. The first post in this thread indicates an increase in ARI, particularly in severe and fatal cases. But the official numbers indicate only 39 people were given Tamiflu (in a city of millions). And of the 8 cases severe enough to warrant hospitalization, 5 of them tested positive for H1N1.

It seems to me that the offical numbers are suspect, and that large numbers of H1N1 cases, including severe or fatal ones, may be being misdiagnosed or covered up.
 
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