Mumbai may witness mini swine flu wave, experts warn

BMCrsquos claim of 11 swine flu cases so far this month may not be accurate as many doctors say they see 12 cases daily As the disease has symptoms similar to that of Covid19 those testing negative for Coronavirus assume it to be the usual viral Expensive tests also come in the way of accurate reporting of swine flu cases said experts who worry about a surge in the numbersAccording to the BMC the city this year has reported 15 cases of swine flu where symptoms include fever and chills fatigue cough body aches sore throat diarrhoea and vomiting But a few doctors said they are getting 12 cases daily Washing hands with soap and water the use of sanitiser and masks can slow down the spread of swine flu said expertsAlso readMumbai City witnesses spike in H1N1 and Leptospirosis casesDr Tanu Singhal consultant paediatrics and infectious diseases Kokilaben Hospital said various influenza viruses are circulating including H3N2 H1N1 and Influenza B at the moment and they are focusing on flu ldquoThe test does not differentiate swine flu from other forms of influenza Most patients getting the flu have a very high fever for a couple of days along with a cold and cough and most patients recover in 23 days Some cases can go on to develop pneumonia and some may also need ventilation This however accounts for only 01ndash1 per cent of the total number of infected people The symptoms of swine flu are the same as those of Covid and it is clinically not possible to differentiate between the two Therefore many patients undergo a Covid test first and if it comes negative we think of flu or any respiratory virusesrdquo While 9498 per cent Covid cases are mild it is about 80 per cent for swine fluPassengers at LTT Kurla in January 2021 Doctors say a mask and frequent washing of hands can slow down the spread of swine flu PicAtul KambleDr Rajesh Sharma head of Pulmonary Medicine at Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital said ldquoOn average I have seen 1 or 2 swine flu patients every day Some of my patientsrsquo conditions are serious and one of the patients is on a ventilator What is happening is that lots of people are getting typical viral symptoms of infection in the upper respiratory tract cough with fever Generally people think it is a mild attack of CovidrdquoAfter the disease progresses Dr Sharma said realize itrsquos something else and visit the hospital ldquoMost patients are coming with the symptoms of fever severe body ache running nose cough and asthma exacerbations Due to similar symptoms people are missing it There is no need to panic as not all patients are not severe but if a person is having all the above symptoms please donrsquot neglect itrdquo Test rate appears to be another factor behind the likely underreporting said experts A swine flu test now costs between Rs 3500Rs 4500 in private setupsmdasha Covid test is about Rs 350Dr Manjusha Agarwal senior consultantinternal medicine at Global Hospital said more patients with highgrade fever sore throat cough and cold are turning up at their hospital and most test negative for Covid ldquoSome of these patients have tested for swine flu Several patients do not want to undergo testing for swine flu due to the cost factor and would prefer empirical treatment The majority of patients get better immediately when appropriate antiviral therapy has been given Along with patients general practitioners must be aware of this nonCovid flu so that there is no delay in treatment We have not seen any complications of swine flu like ARDS which was a dreaded complication during the 201012 wave Vaccination of all beyond 65 years of age with comorbidities a younger susceptible population with influenza vaccination is imperativerdquoDr Kishore Sathe an emergency medicine specialist at P D Hinduja Hospital H1N1 cases have gone up in the past 15 days though most are mild ldquoOnly elder patients with multiple comorbid conditions require hospital admissions including ICU Fortunately we have got Oseltmevirlike drugs to take care of H1N1 hence itrsquos easy to contain the spreadrdquo11No of swine flu cases in July as per BMC