22 swine flu cases in National Capital till February 17

As many as 22 cases of swine flu have been reported from the national Capital till February 17, a report by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) stated. Three new cases of the H1N1 virus were reported from Delhi in the week ending on February 18. This year, a total of 22 cases have been reported in Delhi and one person has lost his life to the virus, after no reported cases in the last quarter of 2017.

The report also reveals 2,835 cases and 12 deaths due to H1N1 fever in 2017 in Delhi as compared to 193 cases and seven deaths in 2016. New cases started to appear in January when six cases were reported in the first week itself.

The increased cases have led to new isolation wards being made at several hospitals in Delhi, whereas some hospitals are still using their swine flu wards as dengue/chikungunya wards.

"We are prepared for the worse. All medicines, IVs are in stock and isolation wards and ICUs are available too," said Dr V K Tiwari, Medical Superintendent, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

The surge in the cases had led to the Delhi government issue a health advisory in January for prevention of influenza H1N1 virus, commonly known as Swine Flu. According to the advisory, the symptoms of H1N1 are -- fever and cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose and difficulty in breathing. The other symptoms may include body ache, headache, fatigue, chills, diarrhea and vomiting, and blood-stained sputum.

The swine flu cases continue to take lives in the country as 117 deaths have been reported in 2018 and number of reported cases goes to 1,154.