New Delhi: Several parts of India have seen a rise in the number of influenza cases in the last two months with prolonged illness and prolonged cough.
After facing the Covid-19 pandemic for two years, the rise in the number of these cases has created fear among the people.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that it is caused by the Influenza A subtype H3N2 virus. This virus causes more cases of hospitalization than other subtypes.
According to experts, cases have been reported all over India for the last two-three months. Usually its symptoms include persistent cough along with fever. In recent cases, a lot of patients have complained of such symptoms for a long time.
Dr Anurag Mehrotra of Siddha Hospital says, “The infection is taking time to recover. The symptoms are intense and persist for a long time even after the patient recovers.”
Experts say that the H3N2 virus causes more hospitalizations than other influenza subtypes.
Clinical trial specialist Dr Anita Ramesh says the new strain of influenza is not life-threatening.
He said, “It is not fatal. But some of my patients had to be admitted to the hospital due to respiratory problems. Some of its symptoms are similar to Covid, but all my patients have tested negative.”
Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has advised against indiscriminate use of antibiotics amid rising cases of cough, cold and nausea across the country.
The association has asked doctors to prescribe only symptomatic treatment and not antibiotics.
“We have already seen widespread use of Azithromycin and Ivermectin during COVID.19. Before prescribing antibiotics, it is necessary to find out whether the infection is bacterial or not,” a government advisory said.