Two H1N1 deaths were reported in the city in March. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials said a 30-year-old woman from Agripada and a 65-year-old woman from Mazgaon succumbed to the disease. The State has recorded 1,346 positive H1N1 cases and 120 deaths this year so far.
According to the BMC’s executive health officer, Dr. Padmaja Keskar, the two deaths were confirmed during the death committee meeting this month. She said the 65-year-old victim was a diabetic and hospitalised for over a week.
“We are not seeing a lot of cases but one must be alert. Getting vaccinated against the virus is advisable,” a civic health official said. The city has recorded 134 cases this year so far. Of these, 40 were reported in February, 80 in March, and 14 this month.
Even as Mumbai has not recorded a spurt, the number of cases from other parts of the State is a cause for worry. “We do have many H1N1 cases being reported. But the trend has been the same in the neighbouring States as well, where the number of deaths is more,” State’s epidemiologist Dr. Pradeep Awate said.
He said 8.8 lakh patients have been screened so far and more than 15,500 suspected patients have been put on oseltamivir, the drug that works against the virus.
H1N1 is an airborne respiratory disease caused by the type A influenza virus. The most common symptoms of the infection are nasal congestion, sore throat, high-grade fever, cough, breathlessness, body ache, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Children, pregnant women, senior citizens, and those with underlying ailments should be cautious.