H1N1 flu not lethal, but prevention vital: expert

Karachi has regularly reported H1N1 influenza (swine flu) cases in the months of December and January since 2009, but this particular strain is not causing any severe infection, as its mortality rate is only 0.1 per cent, or one in a thousand, an expert told The News on Tuesday.

The Sindh Health Department has also woken up after H1N1 flu cases surfaced, as they have decided to launch an awareness campaign, establish control rooms in all the districts of the province, direct public hospitals to report suspected flu cases and to purchase flu vaccines.

“This disease used to be known as swine flu, but the World Health Organisation renamed it as the H1N1/09 pandemic, and since 2009 its cases are being reported in Karachi in the months of December and January,” says Dr Bushra Jamil, head of Infectious Diseases Department at Aga Khan University Hospital. “So far Aga Khan University Hospital has received 100 suspected patients, of which 43 were tested positive for influenza. Of them, 38 were infected with the H1N1/09 pandemic.”

Dr Bushra warns that seasonal influenza can prove to be lethal for children under the age of five, the elderly over 55 years of age, and those afflicted with asthma, cancer, diabetes or compromised immunity.

She urges people to get the flu vaccine, which is available in the market for a few hundred rupees so they can protect themselves from the disease. “Although this influenza is different from the common cold, this is not as lethal as it was in 1918 or in 2009. The symptoms include high fever with pain in the body, cough, sneezing and headache. In case of complications, the patient may find it difficult to breathe, may vomit or get an upset stomach.”

She advises people to adopt coughing etiquettes in case they contract the flu so they can protect others from the highly infectious disease. She says that people can use paracetamol in case of fever, and that they should consume plenty of fluids and rest a lot. She stresses providing supportive care to flu patients.

She says the flu virus transmits among humans in three ways: by direct contact with infected individuals, by contact with contaminated objects and surfaces, and by inhaling virus-laden aerosols or droplets when a person sneezes and coughs without covering their mouth.

“Instead of using their hand to cover their mouth while sneezing and coughing, they should use their arm to cover their face so that their hands are not infected with the influenza virus. Washing hands after shaking hands with infected people or touching surfaces also reduces the risk of contracting the flu.”

Meanwhile, the health department has asked all the major public hospitals in the province, especially those in Karachi, to report suspected flu cases to the health authorities despite the fact that no public hospital in the province is equipped to detect H1N1 flu.

The News has learnt that the only machine capable of conducting the test to detect H1N1 flu is lying useless at the Civil Hospital Karachi due to unavailability of the relevant kits, but the authorities decided not to order them because it would be a “waste of time and money”. “The health department has decided that flu vaccines will be purchased, public awareness campaigns will be launched through banners and posters and control rooms will be established in every district,” said an official.