H1N1 rate rises to 40% from 25% last yr: NIVPune: The National Institute of Virology (NIV) has advised people to be extra vigilant and take precautionary measures to ward off swine flu, as the infection rate of the disease has now gone up to 40%. “There has been a significant rise in the number of people suffering from H1N1 influenza this year as compared to last year, when the rate was 15-25%. However, it has already touched 40% now, with a spurt in cases during the second wave of the disease. Precaution is the key to protection from the infection,’’ NIV director A C Mishra told TOI on Wednesday. BMC slammed for malaria spread The state government on Wednesday pulled up the BMC on its anti-malaria measures. The Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra chapter, urged it to declare an epidemic in Mumbai, but health minister Suresh Shetty rejected the demand. The cabinet grilled municipal commissioner Swadheen Kshatriya, saying the civic body wasn’t doing enough. The BMC’s makeshift hospital also faced flak, with critics saying it was in a mosquito breeding site. Meanwhile, the Thane Municipal Corporation and IMA conducted a camp and examined 2,500 people, of which 1,100 had fever; 934 samples were sent for tests. TNN P 4 ‘Get jabbed, wash hands to prevent swine flu’ Pune: The infection rate of the second wave of H1N1 influenza has touched 40% this year, up from 15-25% last year. “The pandemic H1N1 virus has become a dominant strain now. However, a few cases of seasonal influenza strains are also being seen along with H1N1,’’ said AC Mishra, director, National Institute of Virology (NIV). “The infection rate having gone up, any kind of flu symptoms should be aggressively treated well within time. All precautionary measures, like frequently washing hands and following healthy and hygienic habits, are very important. “We have been receiving about 200 throat swab samples from all over Maharashtra daily. Many of these are coming from far-flung areas that remained unscathed last year. There has been an increase in the number of cases.’’ Dwelling on the unpredictability of the virus, Mishra maintained that flu viruses were notoriously unpredictable, and robust preparedness was necessary to deal with them. Asked whether the virus is expected to behave more virulently, Mishra said two other flu pandemics of the 20th century—those of 1957 and 1968—generally showed no more than a single seasonal recurrence; and in each case, the causative virus did not become significantly more pathogenic over the early years of its circulation. TNN
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Source: Times of India, 5th August 2010, Thursday.