H1N1 India: 3 Family Members Confirmed, 2 Asymptomatic

Mumbai
Mar 28, 2012
Excerpt:

The BMC on Tuesday reported three new swine flu cases . The H1N1 influenza virus has resurfaced in the city after almost a year, infecting five people so far this time around; three of the patients are from one family in Mulund.

The new patients, who, according to the BMC, tested positive for H1N1 last week, are a man aged 57 from Bandra , one aged 53 from Elphinstone Road and a man aged 37, who is a member of the Mulund family. The earlier patients are the 37-yearold man's son aged six and mother aged 57.

The family has no recent travel history, indicating that the three members contacted the virus in the city. After the family's case was reported , the BMC screened around 150 families in Mulund for H1N1 symptoms. But no more positive cases were found, said additional municipal commissioner Manisha Mhaiskar.

The Bandra and Elphinstone Road men, who are friends, have a travel history involving Alibaug. The civic body's executive health officer Dr Anil Bandivadekar said all patients were stable. "They have been put on antiviral drugs and are responding well."

A worrying observation by the BMC is that the Mulund man and his mother's cases are asymptomatic, meaning they did not show any classic symptoms of the infection. The infection in them was detected when the man insisted on getting tested . "But this is not surprising ," said Dr Abhay Chaudhary , director, Haffkine Research Institute. "H1N1 is more like a seasonal flu now. The more we test people, the more positive cases would come. But they may be having subclinical infection and not suffering from it."