As the end of swine flu season nears, it has been reported that the state of Telangana alone has witnessed over 300 cases of swine flu this season. Experts claim that the extremely cold climate seen this year resulted in an increase in the number of swine flu cases. However, seeing that the flu season is ending, people do not need to worry.
“Flu season starts around August and ends by January to February or so. Though we saw a significant number of cases this year, we don’t expect to see a drastic rise in positive cases at this point,” says Dr Shankar from the Institute of Preventive Medicine in Hyderabad. “Winter is ending and the cases too are expected to go down.”
While he acknowledges that getting vaccinated is certainly beneficial, he also states that getting vaccinated at this point is not going to be helpful. “It is nearing the end of flu season, people should just take the basic precautionary measures like hand-washing and protecting themselves against cold weather, but there’s not much difference which will be seen by taking the vaccine at this point. The vaccine is ideally most effective when taken at least 10 to 15 days prior to the start of the flu season,” adds Dr Shankar. He also notes that the best time to take the vaccine is in late July or early August around the start of the flu season.
Swine flu or H1N1 is caused by a strain of the influenza A virus. It was initially noted to be transmitted to humans from pigs, though it is now more commonly transmitted from an infected person to others. Symptoms of the flu include persistent fever, cough, sore throat, headache, nausea, and vomiting. A simple throat swab and culture are used to diagnose the infection.