Two suspected H3N2 deaths, minister asks all to be vigilant

The first death was reported in Nagpur when A K Maji died on March 9. On March 2, he was admitted to a private hospital in Nagpur with complaints of breathing trouble. He had severe comorbidities like high blood pressure and diabetes. The MBBS student, Chandrakant Sankalp from Ahmednagar, died on March 13. After appearing for his degree examination, Sankalp had gone to Alibaug. But after returning on March 10, he started having high fever and body ache. When his condition deteriorated, he was rushed to hospital on March 12 but died the next day. He later tested positive for Covid-19 and H3N2.

Sawant said state health machinery has been put on alert with 361 cases of influenza infections being reported. He added that guidelines will be issued in the next two days after discussion with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. “Influenza has been detected in Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Thane, Sangli and Kolhapur. There are 303 cases of H1N2 and 58 cases of H3N2,” Sawant told the Assembly.

He added that all district and rural health centres have been activated and put on alert. The preparedness will be reviewed every three hours, he said. Speaking to the media, Sawant said a report (to ascertain the exact cause of death of the two patients either by H3N2 or Covid-19) is awaited. “Preliminary report suggests that H3N2 does not lead to death.”

Officials said the spread of H3N2 influenza is mostly limited to urban areas of districts like Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Thane, Sangli and Kolhapur. As of March 13, the state reported 58 confirmed cases of H3N2 with 48 patients requiring hospitalisation. “If anyone shows symptoms like severe cough, high fever, sore throat then they are requested to visit the nearby hospitals without any delay. If treated on time, the recovery rate gets faster,” he said and appealed to people to use masks and follow social distancing norms besides maintaining personal hygiene, including washing hands.

Sawant advised pregnant women, people with severe comorbidities and immunocompromised to get the influenza vaccine. He instructed all districts to be vigilant and stock up antiviral medicines like Tamiflu. “The symptoms of influenza include cough, fever, body ache and headache, sore throat, a runny or stuffy nose and extreme fatigue. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea have been seen in very few cases,” he said.

Meanwhile, according to BMC, till March 15, Mumbai has recorded 118 cases of H1N1 and H3N2 influenza. In January, only 19 cases were reported, which increased to 46 in February and 53 till Wednesday. While 32 patients are in hospital, four among them have H3N2 and 28 are infected with H1N1. The patients are stable, civic officials said.

Influenza viruses, which cause the infectious disease known as flu, are of four types – A, B, C and D. Influenza A is further classified into sub-types, one among which is H3N2.