Influenza Virus Back In Telangana

Hyderabad, Mar 4 (Maxim News): After three years of SARS-CoV-2 being the dominant viral strain during the Covid pandemic, the influenza A (HINI), formerly known as swine flu, has made a comeback and is now the dominant circulating virus not only in Telangana but across many parts of the country.

Based on the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) surveillance data collected through its network of laboratories, in which the Central laboratory at Gandhi Hospital is also included, influenza A (HINI) and another subtype A(H3N2) cases have witnessed a significant rise since December 2022 till this march 2023 in Telangana.

Since last December, the rise of Influenza A (HINI) cases in Telangana has also coincided with a large cross-section of individuals reporting to nursing homes and clinics with symptoms of fever, sore throat, body aches, and persistent cough that take at least a week to subside. While almost all such individuals tested negative for Covid-19, they, however, continued to suffer from morbidity/sickness, especially with fever and persistent cough that remained for more than a week.

Based on the ICMR surveillance data, the influenza A subtype (H3N2) was also a dominant viral strain circulating in the community. About half of the patients in outpatients and inpatients between December 2022 and March 2023 had influenza due to A (H3N2) subtype, the surveillance said.

According to the superintendent, of Gandhi Hospital Dr. M. Raja Rao said that almost all such patients had visited the outpatients of nursing homes, clinics, and government hospitals with fever, cough, and even symptoms of pneumonia. “From our experience in the past during the pandemic, even Covid-19 was self-limiting and there was no specific treatment modality. Almost all viral diseases are self-limiting and they recover on their own. (Maxim News)

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