After nine quiet months, H1N1 makes a comeback in Mumbai

The 15 days of October have seen a sharp spike in the number of H1N1 cases in the city. While the month of September saw just one case of H1N1 registered in the city, also the first H1N1 case registered in Mumbai in 2018, October has already seen 13 cases.

On Tuesday, the BMC's public health department released the health report for monsoon-related diseases in the city. It reveals that 14 H1N1 cases were reported thus far in the year 2018, of which one was in September and 13 in October. There were no deaths on account of H1N1 this year.

This is a remarkable decrease from the corresponding figures for 2017, when 995 cases were reported between January and October, which resulted in 18 deaths. Dr Padmaja Keskar, executive health officer of the BMC's public health department, said, "We have been getting a few suspected cases of H1N1, but not eventually end up being diagnosed with the illness. However, we have kept the emergency vaccine ready for the high-risk group people. If a person, who we suspect is suffering from the disorder, is tested and shows severe symptoms, we can immediately start with the treatment procedure."

"Since the few weeks, we have been getting very few suspected cases of H1N1, of which some have been confirmed and some others not. But citizens need not worry, because there is no widespread occurrence being reported anywhere in the city," she added.

H1N1 virus, which causes the swine flu disease, affects the body in many different ways. Its many symptoms include fever, cough, body ache, nasal secretions, headache, fatigue, loose motions and weakness.

Mumbai has witnessed good and bad years every alternate year as far as H1N1 is concerned. According to officials, there are no precautionary measures taken to prevent H1N1. High-risk group people, including pregnant women, senior citizens, those suffering kidney ailments and all others who have weak immunity systems are given heavy vaccination.

As per the BMC's epidemiology cell, the year 2017 saw 995 cases and 18 deaths, while 2016 saw only three cases. In 2015, there were 3,028 cases and 58 deaths in the city.