Swine flu on the rise: Delhi sees over 300 cases since January

While Delhi is struggling hard to deal with the dengue and chikungunya menace, the rise in the cases of swine flu has put the entire nation on a red alert.

As many as 320 cases of the H1N1 virus have been reported from the national capital as per the data provided by the Delhi government on Tuesday.

"Two people have died due to the deadly virus in the capital," said a senior government official.

Symptoms include fever, cough, nasal secretion, fatigue, headache, body ache and sore throat. Frequent hand-washing and avoiding crowded places are among the precautions one should take to avoid catching the infection.

The standard treatment for H1N1 is Tamiflu, which should be taken only on prescription. There are three categories of the virus — A, B and C. While the first two are considered stable, the C category is dangerous. It requires ventilator support immediately.

As per the government data, 12,500 cases have been reported so far from the entire nation.

Maharashtra is the worst affected with 284 deaths followed by Gujarat (75), Kerala (63) and Rajasthan (59), government data shows.

"The number of cases will go up in the coming days. Generally, the cases of swine flu arrive in Delhi in the month of September. This year, we have the cases of vector-borne diseases combined with the H1NI virus. It is a deadly combination," said Dr SP Byotra, Department of Internal Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram hospital.

In 2009, when H1N1 was spreading fast in many countries around the world, the World Health Organisation called it a pandemic. Since then, people have continued to get sick from swine flu across the world, including in India, but the cyclical nature of the virus means that every few years there is a spurt in cases and deaths.