Gujarat reports first death from H3N2 influenza virus, 7th in India

Mangalore Today News Network

Ahmedabad, Mar 14, 2023: A 58-year-old woman died in Gujarat after contracting the H3N2 influenza virus, officials said. She was undergoing treatment at SSG hospital in Vadodara.

With this, India’s death toll due to the H3N2 virus climbed to seven. The first reported H3N2 death in the country was an 82-year-old man in Karnataka’s Hassan district.

 

From January 2 to March 5, 451 cases of the H3N2 virus have been reported in the country, according to data shared by the health ministry on Friday. It also said it is keeping a close watch on the situation and cases are expected to decline from month end.

Sources said H3N2 and other influenza infections are seasonal and the government was looking into measures to control the spike in cases.

The ICMR recently issued an advisory asking people to avoid self-medication and use of antibiotics in this influenza outbreak.

H3N2 is a non-human influenza virus that normally circulates in pigs and has infected humans, according to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Symptoms are similar to those of seasonal flu viruses and can include fever and respiratory symptoms such as cough and runny nose, and possibly other symptoms, including body ache, nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea.

Courtesy: India Today