Late reporting and delay in prescribing Tamiflu caused most H1N1 deaths, says a detailed analysis as the death toll touched 101 on Tuesday. The maximum number of 67 deaths was reported in Maharashtra. National Institute of Communicable Diseases director Shivalal said these persons had reported at least two days late to the designated health centres.
The study, conducted on 82 dead patients and released on Tuesday, found that the average gap between the onset of illness and reporting to a designated health centre was 5.2 days and the time interval between the onset of illness and initiation of Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) was 5.7 days. It was found that deaths were higher among those who reported very late for diagnosis. Most patients who died in the first few days were above 50 years of age.
“Late reporting increases fatality among patients who have diabetes, lung and heart diseases. Also, most of these patients had visited at least two other doctors or hospitals before coming to the designated hospital,” Shivlal said.
About 67% of H1N1 casualties (55 deaths) were in the age-group of 15-45 years. These persons, incidentally, also suffered from diabetes (17), chronic heart (11) and lung (8) diseases. Some were also suffering from anaemia (4), blood disorder (3), neurological disorder (3) and AIDS (2).
The most common symptom among these patients was cough (85%) and breathlessness. Around 56% suffered from high grade fever, 32% had body ache and headache and 21% had a sore throat. They also had pain in chest, drowsiness, fall in blood pressure, blood in sputum and nail discolouration.
About 76.2% of the deaths (61) were reported in urban areas, 23.8% (19) in rural areas. “This doesn’t necessarily mean that the virus is spreading in rural areas. The numbers of rural infections was derived from cases who gave their addresses in villages. This may also mean migratory workers were suffering from the infection,” said director general of health services RK Srivastawa.
The total number of positive cases in India so far is 4,083, while 4,101 deaths have been reported till now. Ninety-six fresh cases and one death were reported on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has made it mandatory for private labs empanelled for testing H1N1 to report all positive flu cases to state nodal officers to ensure the government has full details.
