Seasonal Influenza Cases To Decline By March End, Strictly Monitoring H3N2 Subtype: Health Ministry

The health ministry said children, elderly people with comorbidities are most vulnerable to influenza.  

New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry on Friday said the cases of seasonal influenza are expected to decline by March-end and that the government is strictly monitoring the H3N2 subtype, news agency ANI reported. So far, Karnataka and Haryana have confirmed one death each from H3N2 influenza.

The health ministry said children, elderly people with comorbidities are most vulnerable to influenza.  

The government said it is keeping a track on the influenza cases through Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network on a real-time basis. 

As per the Health Ministry, advisories issues by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) are to be followed to check the infection from spreading.

According to the latest data available on IDSP-IHIP (integrated health Information Platform), a total of 3,038 laboratory confirmed cases of various subtypes of influenza, including H3N2 have been reported till March 9 by the states. This includes 1,245 cases in January, 1,307 in February and 486 cases in March so far.

The IDSP-IHIP data from health facilities show that during the month of January this year, a total of 3,97,814 cases of Acute Respiratory Illness/Influenza Like Illness (ARI/ILI) were reported from the country that increased slightly to 4,36,523 during February. In the first nine days of March, this number stands at 1,33,412.

The corresponding data for admitted cases of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) is 7,041 in January, 6,919 in February and 1,866 in the first nine days of March.

According to government data, a total of 955 H1N1 cases have been reported till February end this year. Majority of the H1N1 cases are reported from Tamil Nadu (545), followed by Maharashtra (170), Gujarat (74), Kerala (42) and Punjab (28).

Meanwhile, NITI Aayog will hold an inter-ministerial meeting on Saturday to review the seasonal influenza situation in the states and for ways to further support them in terms of public health measures, management guidelines and protocols to manage the surge in cases.

It is to be noted that seasonal influenza is an acute respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses which circulate in all parts of the world, and the cases are seen to increase during certain months globally. India every year witnesses two peaks of seasonal influenza, one from January to March and the other in post monsoon months.