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‘Thousands of people infected by viral common cold’

By M. Waqar Bhatti
January 02, 2019

Denying reports that there was an ongoing outbreak of the lethal influenza virus H1N1 in Karachi, health experts have said that thousands of people were actually infected with the highly contagious viral rhinopharyngitis or the common cold.

They have advised Karachiites to use precautionary measures to prevent themselves and others from getting the infection and to take symptomatic treatment for relief.

“Almost every person is now infected with the influenza virus, common cold or viral rhinopharyngitis, which is a highly contagious disease and spreads through droplets, sneezing and shaking hands,” Dr Qaiser Sajjad, eminent ENT specialist and general secretary of the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) told The News on Tuesday.

“This is a very painful condition, especially for children and elderly people, as it creates immense difficulty for them in breathing.”

Dispelling the rumours that it is the lethal H1N1 strain of the flu which was reported in January last year in Karachi, Sajjad said this is common cold or influenza virus and has gripped the city very rapidly as people don’t adopt precautionary measures and get infected. “This virus spreads faster than fire and now almost everybody is infected and in return infecting his family, friends and colleagues.”

Prevention

According to Sajjad, prevention from getting infected with viral flu is extremely difficult during seasonal epidemics. However, he advised people to use precautionary measures like avoiding shaking hands, using common water glasses or cups, embracing people and if possible use face masks to prevent themselves from droplet infections.

“People with improved immunity normally remain protected from flu infections or recover earlier once they are infected,” he said. “To boost immunity, people should sleep at least for eight hours in the night, drink plenty of water in a day and eat lots of fruits and vegetables.”

He said fresh seasonal fruits, especially citrus fruits, contain a lot of vitamins, especially Vitamin C, that prevent a person from getting viral flu, while seasonal vegetables, lentils, eggs and fish help in improving immunity.

To a query, he said self-medication and use of antibiotics should be avoided in case of viral flu and common cold, adding that the best treatment can only be suggested by consultant physician or general practitioners, who could decide the proper course of treatment after examining the patients and their symptoms.

No virology lab

He lamented that despite raising hue and cry for last several decades, Sindh and Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, lacks a proper virology lab where viruses could be examined and identified.

In spite of the presence of thousands of viruses in our environment, physicians and health authorities were not aware of the identification of the microorganisms infecting people, he said.

“There is an urgent need for a reference virology lab for the identification of viruses, which are present in our environment and in most of the cases, we have to spend our samples either to Islamabad or even abroad for the identification and confirmation of certain types of viruses,” he added.

Meanwhile, ENT specialist Prof Atif Hafeez from the Civil Hospital Karachi said that the cases of common cold and influenza are reported every month in Karachi but in winter, especially in December and January, the number of cases increases but not to an alarming extent.

“This year, we have seen an extended period of cold ranging between 9 to 11 degrees Celsius so that common cold cases are a bit on higher side but there is no unusual increase,” said Hafeez. He added that people taking proper treatment and following the advice of physicians were getting cured within a few days.

“But unfortunately, a majority of people don’t take flu or common cold seriously, avoid doctors and keep spreading it to others,” he said, urging citizens to consult doctors who could prescribe proper medicines to them after seeing their symptoms.