Karnataka reported first ever death by H3N2 virus today
On Friday, Karnataka reported the first-ever death by the H3N2 virus. It’s strange that just a few days back, Karnataka’s health minister, K Sudhakar, stated there isn’t a reason to panic about infection with the influenza A H3N2 variant virus.
The patient suffered from sore throat, fever, and cough and also had influenza-like illness (ILI) symptoms. On February 24, he was hospitalized at Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences, and on March 1, he took his last breath, says Dr Shivaswamy DN, district health officer (DHO), Hassan, said.
Health officials are surveilling the area to find the victim’s primary and secondary connections, as Shivaswamy said the virus was found on March 6 after the individual passed away. He noted that, thus far, no new cases in the district have been reported.
“We conducted regional surveillance and sent the first information report (FIR). To find the primary and secondary contacts, monitoring is still being conducted. We will gather the swab samples and send them for additional testing if we discover ILI-like symptoms, the DHO stated.
A non-specific respiratory infection, an influenza-like illness, is characterized by fever, exhaustion, cough, and other symptoms that go away in a few days.
According to Shivaswamy, no other people were found to be symptomatic during the surveillance. “Preliminary investigation indicates that it is an isolated event. The victim lived in a remote house on his farm. “There are no houses nearby areas,” he added.
In light of the sudden increase in H3N2 virus infection, health minister Sudhakar met with the technical advisory committee and senior officials earlier this week.
Sudhakar noted that 20 H1N1 cases, 26 H3N2 cases, 10 Influenza B 10 cases, and 69 Adeno infections were discovered between January and March.
According to Sudhakar, we are screening 25 instances of SARI (severe acute respiratory infections) & ILI (influenza-like illness) at Victoria and Vani Vilasa Hospitals to track the changes. He continued, “The central government has established a target of 25 tests per week.
According to the health minister, the infection can affect children under 15, seniors over 65, and pregnant women who are also more susceptible to contracting it.
According to him, the spread can be stopped using hand hygiene, crowd control, and cleanliness.
The H3N2 virus, an alteration of the H1N1 virus, is said to spread every year around this time, according to Randeep Guleria, chairman of the Institute of Internal Medicine Education.
The H3N2, which has been widespread for a few months, causes further hospitalizations than other subtypes, according to researchers at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
According to ICMR, 30 viral research and diagnostic laboratories participate in a pan-India respiratory surveillance programme.
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