Due to the extreme weather conditions, Bengaluru hospitals have seen an unusually large number of fever cases over the past month.
Story so far: Apart from rising Covid cases, Bengaluru is experiencing a growing number of H1N1 and flu cases. This has been attributed to the extreme weather conditions currently ravaging the city. Doctors are advocating for high-risk groups to take the vaccination for flu and H1N1 since 50% of patients on ventilators in Apollo hospitals were diagnosed with the H1N1-flu combination.
- Since the symptoms of Covid, flu and H1N1 are similar; fever, cold, cough, and running nose, differentiating between the diseases is difficult without testing.
- However, the precautions against these illnesses are also the same – Covid-appropriate behaviour such as masking, sanitizing, and maintaining social distancing can prevent the rise of cases.
Expected rise in cases: Apart from these diseases, doctors have also noticed an increase in dengue cases. This is due to increased rainfall, which is leading to more pockets of stagnant water, enabling the rapid breeding of mosquitoes. A doctor at Santosh Hospital observed that 20% of the daily cases were dengue patients.
- While there are a high number of infections, city doctors also noted that the number of fever patients being admitted to hospitals is minuscule. They also claimed that there is no risk of hospitals getting overloaded.