Srinagar: The State Health authorities on Friday issued an advisory on H1N1 influenza (Swine Flu) following a death of a patient who had tested positive for the virus. While authorities asserted that there was no need to panic, they however stressed on the need to exercise caution.
The 43-year old man from south Kashmir (name withheld), who had tested positive for H1N1 influenza and had developed Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) died at the SMHS hospital on December 21, sources told Greater Kashmir.
Medical Superintendent SMHS, Dr Nazir A Chaudhary said the patient was the lone case of the Flu the SMHS hospital had received. “We have already taken adequate precautionary measures and we have administered prophylaxis to his attendants,” he said.
The GMC health officials stressed that H1N1 flu was ‘endemic’ implying that the cases were found quite often in this geographical area without causing much of a virulent activity in most cases. “It is not expected to cause an outbreak because this virus has been in the community like many other microbes,” Dr Saleem Khan HoD Social and Preventive Medicine GMC Srinagar said.
Dr Parvaiz A Kaul, influenza expert and HoD Internal Medicine SKIMS, said currently there was “some circulation of virus in our state”, but quite like the “normal flu”.
“H1N1 is the major strain of circulating viruses right now,” he said. He however cautioned that the state has seen similar pattern of the virus as has seen in New Delhi.”
“A spike in cases was expected,” he said, adding it takes at least two weeks for the vaccine to build immunity against the virus.
“Necessary precautions on the community level, health authorities said, were the best way to safeguard against this and other flu, for the masses,” said a doctor.
He said considering the past behaviour of the virus, it was advisable to go for influenza vaccination, especially for children, pregnant women, elderly, diabetics and patients with kidney and lung diseases, asthmatics, and health care workers.
“Injectibles vaccines are currently available in market, and the heath advisory by GMC stated that nasal spray vaccines were also available and very effective as an individual level measure,” the doctor said.
In the beginning of 2015, in the span of three months, at least 26 people had died due to H1N1 influenza, the government had told the state legislature.
Doctors said that mass testing was not required and only those patients that the doctors felt required to be tested must go for it. H1N1 testing facilities were available at SKIMS Soura as well as GMC Srinagar, authorities said.