Nashik: Health officials sound caution about rise of swine flu in 2020

NASHIK: Senior officials of the health department has sounded caution for 2020, appealing citizens to take extra care so that they do not catch swine flu.
Health officials said that the disease saw a remarkable drop in 2019, following which there are chances that swine flu would come up more strongly in 2020 going by the cycles of swine flu spread since 2009.
As per data available with the district health department, swine flu-related deaths dropped by approximately 49% in comparison to the number of deaths from the disease last year.
Till December 26 in 2019, as many as 330 swine flu patients were admitted in the district hospitals and 39 patients died. Around 493 patients were admitted in the district hospitals and 76 people died during the same period in 2018.
Officials said that in 2019 the variation in temperature was lesser compared to 2018. Major fluctuation in temperature between the day and night provides a conducive atmosphere for the virus to grow hence, more people contract swine flu. Apart from this, the virus has a trend of its own. It waxes and wanes in a particular cycle.
Since there was a major drop in 2019, there are chances that it would come more strongly in 2020.
Over the years, there has been a peak in the number of people testing positive for swine flu in Nashik during the months of February, March and April and again in August, September and October.
Officials said they would also organise awareness programmes and conducted a workshops for private medical practitioners to train them on when they should be administering Tamiflu tablets to patients suspected of having swine flu.