State Health and Family Welfare (H&FW) department on Tuesday denied the purported detection of influenza A H1N1 virus in the state, saying there was no such report of the virus becoming endemic in the state.
Influenza – A (H1N1), earlier know as swine flu, was first detected in Mexico in April, 2009
Speaking to the media here Tuesday afternoon, Dr. John Kemp of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project (IDSP) H&FW, informed that one of the patients admitted to a hospital in Dimapur last week was shifted to a hospital in Guwahati (GNRC) from where she was tested positive of the H1F1 virus.
Dr. Kemp said that since the matter was reported from outside the state, there were no threat in Nagaland and asked the public not be alarmed with such reports.
He stated that Influenza A H1N1 virus was no longer a new virus but considered as a common flu, which was seasonal and self-limiting.
Dr. Kemp said that while most swine flu cases would be mild, persons with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, heart diseases, cancer and other immune-compromised conditions, adults over 65 years of age, children under 5 years and pregnant women were at higher risk for acquiring severe illness.
Referring to a health advisory issued by the H&FW department, Dr. Kemp said mortality due to Influenza A H1N1 among the said high risk groups could also be prevented by early diagnosis and prompt treatment.
Maintaining that the state was so far free of the virus, Dr. Kemp, however, said that any suspicious symptoms/cases should be reported to the nearest identified health facility for confirmation and treatment. The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with influenza-A (H1N1)
Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through droplets created while coughing or sneezing by a person infected with the influenza-A (H1N1).
According to sources, the person from Nagaland was suspecetd to have been infected with H1N1 virus, was being treated in Guwahati.
Meanwhile, the H1N1 virus has claimed over 1,000 lives so far this year, which is four times more than deaths recorded last year, with a total of 22,186 cases reported across the country till now, data from the Union health ministry revealed. Like other strains of the flu, H1N1 is highly contagious, and spreads quickly from person to person. It was declared a pandemic in 2009 by the World Health Organisation.
It has been found that this new virus has gene segments from the swine, avian and human flu virus genes.