Kolkata: Year’s first swine flu death sparks concern amid 3rd Cov wave fears

Kolkata: The year’s first swine flu death was reported last week at the state-run ID Hospital, triggering fears about two more suspects at the same hospital who had symptoms but tested negative to the virus on Monday. The death has made doctors worried about a possible rise in swine flu cases amidst the fears of a third Covid wave.

The woman was initially admitted at a nursing home in Phoolbagan where swine flu was confirmed. She was shifted to ID Hospital when her condition deteriorated.

“She was on BiPap when she was brought to us with dangerously low oxygen saturation. Her condition was so bad that she died even before we could start treating her,” said a doctor at the hospital.

While state health department officials were relieved at the other two patients testing negative, a section of private hospital doctors warned that H1N1cases have already started rising.

“We had two patients with symptoms of both swine flu and Covid. Their reports have come negative for both. They are now stable,” said ID Hospital principal Anima Haldar.

Though stray cases of swine flu are not uncommon around this time of the year, what concerns health officials is that the rise in number could coincide with the Covid third wave. At ID Hospital, the non-Covid ICU is currently being used to treat suspected H1N1 cases. The hospital administration has decided to monitor the trend for the next few days.

“In case we see the number of suspected cases rising, we will have to arrange a ward to isolate and treat them,” said Haldar.

H1N1 virus and its non-swine flu variants are fast turning into an epidemic in Kolkata, according to CMRI Hospital director of pulmonology Raja Dhar. The hospital, Dhar said, has been receiving 10 such cases a week and these are just the severe ones. Symptoms, including respiratory distress, fever, body ache and weakness, are common to Covid, but RT-PCR tests and scans are ruling out Covid in most cases.

Dhar added that since swine flu tests are expensive, treatment is symptomatic in most cases. “Our microbiologists believe that a majority of those reporting with symptoms have swine flu,” he said.

Once H1N1 strikes, there is a 30%-40% chance of other family members getting affected, said doctors. The modes of transmission are similar to Covid. H1N1 transmission happens in two ways — through droplets released by the patient during coughing and sneezing, and by contact with the patients’ clothes.