35 influenza cases confirmed in Karachi
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KARACHI: After Punjab, a private hospital in Karachi’s various areas has confirmed 35 cases of the H1N1 (seasonal influenza), with several other patients complaining of symptoms similar to that of the deadly disease.
The patients were worried due to unavailability better diagnosis and treatment facilities in the city’s hospital, while the health experts have advised precautionary measures.
The hospital is the only health centre in the metropolis which has the diagnostic facilities which can detect the presence of the virus. So far, no death in the city has been attributed to the lethal viral flu which has already claimed 18 lives in southern Punjab, particularly in Multan, the AKUH official said.
The disease’s symptoms include cough, fever, sore throat and a runny nose but complications can lead to pneumonia, other lung infections and breathing problems. Ultimately due to asphyxia, an infected person may die.
On Tuesday, year’s first case of deadly swine flu had surfaced in Lahore. National Institute of Health Laboratory, Islamabad has confirmed the disease in a female patient admitted at a private hospital in the city.
What is swine flu?
Swine influenza also called swine flu is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide.
Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always lead to human influenza, often resulting only in the production of antibodies in the blood.
If transmission does cause human influenza, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk of swine flu infection. The meat of an infected animal poses no risk of infection when properly cooked.
