H1N1 rears its head again in Pune, 6 dead & 10 critical

Pune: A 41-year-old Ravet man and two of his family members developed cough, cold and fever a few days back. The symptoms of all three settled within four days. On the seventh day, the man had to be rushed to a hospital following mild breathlessness.

His Covid test came negative, but his condition worsened, and he was moved to Jehangir hospital for viral pneumonia, where he succumbed to complications after two weeks of treatment on ventilator support. The man had tested positive for influenza A (H1N1 or swine flu).

Six patients have died of H1N1-linked complications at private hospitals in Pune so far, with June and July accounting for most deaths, hospitals said. Currently, 10 more H1N1 patients are critical.

Barring the H1N1 virus’s early pandemic phase in 2009-10 and subsequent surges in 2012 and 2015, H1N1 case positivity rate at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) had been less than 1% in its ongoing influenza surveillance. In July this year, the positivity rate reached 4%, a scientist from NIV said.

“If it is viral pneumonia, there are higher chances that it is induced by H1N1 than Covid-19. Admitted Covid patients are mainly incidental positives, who are mainly undergoing treatment for other health reasons. Omicron and its sublineages mainly affect the upper airways than the lungs,” said Jehangir hospital’s infectious diseases expert Dr Piyush Chaudhari.

“Currently, we have 10 H1N1 patients. Of them, four are in the ICU, including two critically ill,” he said. The hospital has reported two swine flu casualties this week.

PMC senior health official Dr Sanjeev Wavare told the media agency, “Barring the pandemic phase in 2009-10 and subsequent surges in 2012, 2015 and 2017, H1N1 cases have been consistently on the decline and had almost gone down to handful during the Covid-19 pandemic. We had reported about 150 swine flu cases and three to four deaths before the pandemic.”

Sahyadri hospitals’ CEO Abrarali Dalal said, “We have treated 63 H1N1 patients in June and July this year. Of them, four succumbed to related complications. Currently, we have eight patients who are critically ill.”

“H1N1 is currently driving the hospital admissions in ICUs,” said Sahyadri hospital’s critical care expert Dr Kapil Borawake.

Deenanath Mangeshkar hospital’s chief intensivist Dr Prasad Rajhans said, “We have treated 14 swine flu patients in the last two days.”

Inlakhs and Budhrani hospital’s chief intensivist Dr Vilas Gundecha said, “We had three patients with severe H1N1-induced pneumonia.” Ruby Hall Clinic’s chief intensivist Dr Kapil Zirpe said, “We have two patients.”