H1N1 returns after two years, Odisha government on alert

BHUBANESWAR: Odisha government on Friday issued an alert after two H1N1 flu cases were detected in the State after a gap of more than two years. The two persons, including a 38-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman, who tested positive for the H1N1 virus are undergoing treatment at a private hospital here.

Last time, the flu cases were reported in February 2020. The two patients had come to the hospital after they suffered from nasal secretions and cough. Though initially they thought it to be COVID-19, it was diagnosed as H1N1. 

Director of Public Health Dr Niranjan Mishra said, "The patients do not have any travel history. As the State usually witnesses two peaks of H1N1 - before the monsoon and during winter - people have been asked to remain in isolation if they develop any symptoms."

The two cases were detected in Odisha after as many cases in Kerala and three in Madhya Pradesh recently. One of the two from Kerala, a 12-year-old girl, had succumbed to the disease on Thursday.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the resurfacing of swine flu cases has pushed the health administration to a state of readiness. The Public Health Director said the State government is fully prepared to tackle the situation.

Declared as a pandemic from June 2009 to August 2010, H1N1 continues to circulate as a seasonal virus worldwide. As many as 840 persons have been affected with H1N1 with 110 dead in the State since 2010.

The outbreak was most intense in 2017 when 414 people were infected and 54 succumbed. Of the 206 positive cases in 2019, five had died. In 2010, the State had reported 92 positive cases and 29 deaths followed by 76 cases and 13 deaths in 2015.