Swine flu cases in the National Capital are seeing an exponential spike with over three times cases reported in the first 35 days of 2019 as compared to the entire 2018. While the Health Department has issued several precautionary measures, the incidents of deaths and the number of cases have not gone down.
The city had reported 205 cases in the year 2018, which have now multiplied and gone up to 895 in the month between January 1 and February 4, with 40 fresh cases on Monday. While the city had seen two deaths last year, different hospitals across the city have already informed 15 deaths so far.
"Most important is to adhere to universal precaution and personal protection. One need not panic and follow the guidelines issued. The deaths happen due to co-morbid conditions (one or more diseases or conditions that occur along with it). Overall eight deaths have been informed to us by different centers, but we have not been able to verify them yet," said Dr Nutan Mundeja, Delhi Government Health Secretary.
While the Ministry of Family and Health Welfare has asked the State Health Department to take appropriate measures against the flu, the Delhi State Health Department has assured that the isolation wards already exist and the vaccines are in stock.
"We are prepared for the worse. All medicines, IVs are in stock and Isolation wards and ICUs are in available too," said Dr V K Tiwari, Medical Superintendent, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. Despite this, a woman, who was a swine-flu suspect, was handed over an AMBU-bag at the RML hospital due to unavailability of a ventilator.
Initially recorded in 2009 in Mexico, the disease was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization in 2010. India had already witnessed 42,592 cases and 3,000 deaths by the end of 2010, as recorded.
According to a Union health ministry data, Delhi, which till January 28 was third in the number of swine flu cases after Rajasthan and Gujarat, is now in the second position. Even though at least 14 deaths have taken place in the national capital -- three in Safdarjung Hospital, 10 in Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and one in AIIMS -- due to the viral disease, these do not reflect in the data.