Swine flu is here to stay! Fresh spell of rain increases risk of H1N1 infection in Delhi

New Delhi, Mar 16: At a time when the health department was speculating that rise in temperature in the month of March will reduce the outbreak of the deadly swine flu virus, but the fresh spell of rain has once again dashed their hopes.

As intermittent rain in Delhi-NCR have dipped the mercury levels in the national capital and adjoining areas, the risk of infection by deadly H1N1 virus have also heightened. The prevailing weather condition have raised the concern of health officials.

The national capital has so far registered close to 4000 cases of swine flu since Jan 1, of which 1000 cases emerged in the last two weeks. As per officials, the unexpected spell of rain is responsible for such high numbers.

As per a report published in The Indian Express, director of health services Dr SK Sharma said, "Once the temperature rises, usually after Holi, cases subside every year. But this year, the weather has been unpredictable and we are seeing rains every 2-3 days. So the temperature is dipping and the H1N1 cases continue to come in. This is due to the prevailing weather conditions and there is no reason to panic."

At a time when dengue cases increase and swine flu cases go down, the latter went up from 2,999 to 3,998 in between Mar 1 and Mar 15.

278 patients tested positive for the H1N1 virus, in the last three days alone, in Delhi. Eleven patients have lost their lives to the virus in 2015, including two pregnant women and a child.

Studies on influenza like the H1N1 during swine flu pandemic in 2009 resulted in identification of specific homoeopathic medicines.

By had last week, Swine flu had claimed another 50 lives in the country taking the death toll to 1,289 while close to 24,000 people had contracted the contagious disease, said government data.

The Union Health Ministry said that while the total number of people who have died has reached 1,289 and those affected by it across various states stands at 23,922 as on March 5 this year.

OneIndia News