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What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
Union health ministry on Friday issued an advisory to states and Union territories in view of rising cases of H3N2 influenza as it confirmed that two persons – one each in Haryana and Karnataka – died of the disease.
After health minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a meeting with senior ministry officials and stakeholders in New Delhi, the ministry released an advisory asking states and UTs to keep an eye on the evolving situation.
In the advisory, the ministry asked senior officers of states and UTs to be on the alert and closely monitor the situation.
“Government of India is working with states and extending support for public health measures to address the situation,” Mandaviya tweeted after the meeting.
Officers in the health ministry said that they are maintaining a vigil. However, they believe that cases of H3N2 influenza will come down by the end of this month.
According to officials, a total of 3038 laboratory-confirmed cases of various subtypes of influenza including H3N2 have been reported between January 1 and March 9 across India.
While 1245 cases of influenza were reported in January 1307 cases in February, and 486 cases in March.
According to the Centre’s integrated health information platform IDSP-IHIP, a total of 397,814 cases of acute respiratory illness/influenza-like illness (ARI/ILI) were reported in the country in January, which increased to 436,523 in February.
In January, 7041 patients were admitted to hospitals for severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), which decreased to 6919 in February. The data for March stands at 1866.
Till February this year, a total of 955 H1N1 cases have been reported of which majorly cases were being reported from Tamil Nadu (545), Maharashtra (170), Gujarat (74), Kerala (42) and Punjab (28).
Meanwhile, the Union health ministry is monitoring and tracking H3N2 cases across states through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network on a real-time basis.
Every year, India witnesses two peaks of seasonal influenza: one from January to March and the other in the post-monsoon season.
NITI Aayog will also hold an inter-ministerial meeting on March 11 to review the seasonal influenza situation in the country. It will discuss guidelines and protocols to manage the increasing seasonal influenza cases.
