H1N1 in family? You should be on your guard

KOLKATA: On Tuesday, 17-year-old Piu Roy — a resident of Panchannagram off EM Bypass — took her Class-XI school exam at the Ruby General Hospital, three days after being diagnosed with swine flu. Two other members of her family have been afflicted with the virus and are under treatment.

Last week, a day after a 40-year-old Salt Lake resident — suffering from swine flu — was released from a private hospital, his 65-year-old mother was struck by the H1N1 virus and admitted to the same hospital. She is still undergoing treatment. Several families across the neighbourhood have had multiple members suffering from the contagious virus that has been stalking the township and Kolkata since January. Five deaths have been reported in the last month and a half and doctors warn that immediate measures are needed to prevent transmission of the deadly virus within the family if the outbreak has to be curbed.


Once H1N1 strikes, there is a 30%-40% chance of other family members getting affected, say doctors. “H1N1is highly contagious. Since a family member of Piu was being treated for swine flu when she was brought in along with a cousin, we immediately got their swab samples tested and the result was positive. The sisters are recovering well,” said Tapas Ray, head of medicine at Ruby hospital.

Transmission happens in two ways — through droplets released by the patient through cough and sneeze (air-borne) and by contact with the patients’ clothes (fomite transmission). The latter has led to several doctors getting the virus while treating swine flu patients in at least two private hospitals. “It is difficult to prevent transimission once you are coming in close contact with a patient either at home or at work. So, if a family member is affected, hospitalization is recommended to ensure isolation. More importantly, it is difficult to predict if the H1N1-triggered illness is going to be serious. Often, it starts with a minor breathing difficulty and severe cough but turns fatal,” said AMRI Hospitals consultant Debashish Saha. He added that he has treated more than a dozen swine flu patients over the last one month.

In a crowded city like Kolkata, number of cases could multiply in a matter of days, warned experts. Three members of a family in Lake Town have been struck since January. While two recovered after a long stint at hospital, the third one is still under treatment.

Ideally, once the virus affects one, the rest of the family should undergo an Xper test to check if they have H1N1. “ If the test result is positive, then immediate isolation and treatment are necessary. All family members should immediately start taking Tamiflu – the principal H1N1drug,” said Saha.

But since Xper test is expensive, family members of an affected should rely more on precautions, according to Fortis Hospital internal medicine consultant Joydeep Ghosh. “Xper can only be done after being admitted in a hospital. So once a member is affected, the rest should start taking Tamiflu, especially if they have flu-like symptoms.”

“The most common swine flu symptoms are fever, cough and breathing difficulty. But the intensity of the symptoms could vary. Often, swine flu triggers vomiting diarrhorea, too,” said Saha.

While Saha felt that preventive treatment may begin even before diagnosis, Biswas differed. “ Tamiflu should be used only after conformation of the virus’ presence,” said Biswas.