Swine Flu deaths cross 100 in Maharashtra

The number of Swine Flu deaths in Maharashtra has crossed 100 this year and there is a rise in number of cases in March and April due to the scorching heat and prevailing conditions.

The government on its part has sensitised the local populace to report to the doctors in case they experience symptoms of H1N1 infection.

"As of now the deaths this year stands at 101," said Dr Pradip Awate, State Surveillance Officer, Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, National Centre for Disease Control, Directorate General of Health Services.

From January 1 to April 9 - a little over fou months - the total deaths are 101. The maximum deaths have been reported from Pune, where 32 deaths have been reported from rural and urban areas combined. It is followed by Nashik, where 20 deaths have been reported.

"In March and April there has been a sudden rise in cases in view of the weather change that we are experiencing now," Dr Awate told Deccan Herald on Monday over phone from Pune. "You have to reduce a bit of social activities and take care....extreme precautions needs to be taken...any problems one must go to a doctor and should not sit back," he said.

Recently Health Minister Dr Deepak Sawant had held a review meeting to take a stock of the situation and come out with strategies to combat the situation and ensure that it does not spread.

In fact, in 2009, the first Swine Flu death was reported from Pune, the IT capital of Maharashtra and a hustling-bustling metropolis with a big migrant population. Swine Flu was a pandemic in 2009, but is now considered a normal human flu virus.

It can spread fast as  seasonal flu. When people who have it cough or sneeze, they spray tiny drops of the virus into the air. If one come in contact with these drops, touch a surface (like a doorknob or sink) where the drops landed, or touch something an infected person has recently touched, he or she catch H1N1 Swine Flu depending on his or her immunity. One must take care while in public places.