Influenza outbreak in several cities; patients report severe, longer sickness

Various parts of the country seem to be in the grip of a viral fever, with a large number of people in several cities reporting severe flu symptoms and longer infections.

The influenza infection, which is characterised by fever, cold and cough that lasts several days and may make many in the family sick serially, is being seen for a longer duration for most patients, experts say.

According to doctors, patients when tested for COVID-19 are generally testing negative.

Influenza back to pre-COVID levels

According to Dr Rajiva Gupta, consultant, internal medicine with CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram, there may have been a 200 percent increase in flu cases since November 2022.

“Three major reasons behind this increase are cold weather from November to January, environmental pollution and an increase in the prevalence of viral infections,” he said.

Interestingly, however, around the same time last year, the situation was slightly different as there was a high prevalence of Omicron variant of SARS CoV 2.

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As most of the patients who presented with these symptoms were COVID-19 positive, so resultantly, flu cases were very less.

Dr Manoj Goel, director, pulmonology at Fortis Memorial Research Institute in Gurugram, too, said that while there has been good news with hardly anyone coming with COVID-19 infection, common flu or influenza seems to be affecting different age groups with different severity.

The patients present with atypical pneumonia, chest infections, respiratory distress and low oxygenation in blood with some of them even needing Intensive Care Unit (care) and ventilation, he said.

The specialist said that the common flu this year is highly infectious and virtually affects all the family members while the symptoms are mainly cough, fever, throat pain, hoarseness of voice and breathing difficulty.

The vulnerable group are mostly those with heart and lung diseases like asthma and diabetes, the elderly and children. Wearing a mask and avoiding crowded places are likely to prevent you from influenza infection. The vaccine against common flu is available.

Silver lining

Gupta said that over the last two weeks, however, flu cases seem to be declining.

People, however, do need to take precautions, including adequate hydration, avoiding use of antibiotics, symptomatic treatment, use of masks to avoid transmission and a normal diet, he said.

Experts say annual flu shots, which are strongly recommended for pregnant women, kids between 2 to 5 years, elderly above 65 years and those with multiple comorbidities, can be considered by all.

Though not available in the government’s vaccination programme, influenza vaccine is available in the market.

Double whammy for Mumbai

India’s financial capital has been witnessing unusual levels of pollution over the last few weeks, with the Air Quality Index, an indication of toxic impurities, way above Delhi’s on some days.

Dr Sarthak Rastogi, consultant, pulmonology with the city's SL Raheja Hospital, said that a large number of patients are lining up at the hospitals with cough due to respiratory infection, which is lasting more than two weeks, and exacerbation of asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder.

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These are usually patients who have taken one-two courses of antibiotics already and have run through several bottles of cough syrups.

“I as a pulmonologist take a lot of effort in explaining to my patients the importance of masks during high pollution and that antibiotics won’t have any results,” he said.

If the patient has a chronic disease like asthma, lung fibrosis, or COPD, it gets worse due to pollution, said Dr Jayalakshmi TK, a pulmonologist with Apollo Hospitals in Navi Mumbai.

Dr Lancelot Pinto, consultant pulmonologist and epidemiologist with PD Hinduja Hospital, warned that individuals who have respiratory illnesses should be cautious about stepping out when the air quality is poor.

Studies have also linked cardiovascular events to air pollution levels, and those with cardiac comorbidities should also be cautious as rising air pollution has both immediate and long-term consequences of concern.

The 2017 Lancet Commission on pollution and health, which used data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2015, for instance, attributed an estimated 9 million deaths (16 percent of all global deaths) to air pollution.