Thiruvananthapuram: Seasonal infections are on the rise as the summer advances. Flu caused by both H3N2 and H1N1 viruses has been now reported from across Kerala.
The total number of H3N2 flu cases reported in Kerala has touched 13. The latest three cases were confirmed from Ernakulam district, while the remaining 10 patients who were earlier diagnosed with the viral disease belong to Palakkad and Alappuzha.
Health authorities said that the condition of none of the patients was critical.
In Kerala, facilities to conduct the tests to confirm the disease are currently available only at the unit of the National Institute of Virology in Alappuzha. However, as the Institute is overburdened with samples, the results for H3N2 tests are being delayed. In view of the situation, the authorities have initiated procedures to conduct tests for H3N2 at the Public Health Laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram also.
Meanwhile, the Directorate of Health Services (DHS) advised elderly people, young children, expectant women and people suffering from serious ailments to exercise caution regarding H3N2. They should seek treatment as soon as symptoms of the disease, which is a variety of influenza (flu), are observed, said DHS authorities.
Persistent cough, sometimes accompanied by fever, being reported across the country for the past two to three months is due to Influenza A subtype H3N2, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) experts said recently.
The H3N2, which has been in wide circulation for the past few months, causes more hospitalisations than other subtypes, said ICMR scientists who keep a close watch on ailments caused by respiratory viruses through the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratories network.
Two people died of H3N2 influenza virus in the country on Friday. The first death was reported in Karnataka and the second in Haryana, the Union Health Ministry sources said.
An increase in the number of H1N1 cases also was noticed in Kerala. While the virus has been detected in 19 persons so far in March, one person succumbed to the disease, the authorities added.
Seasonal influenza is an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses. The 4 types of seasonal influenza viruses are types A, B, C and D.
The general symptoms are a sudden onset of fever, cough (usually dry), headache, muscle and joint pain, severe malaise (feeling unwell), sore throat and a runny nose, says a WHO advisory.
