There is no need for panic on H3N2 virus infections in Karnataka and guidelines will be soon issued on the precautions to be taken, said Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar on Monday.
Later in the day, the Health and Family Welfare Department issued guidelines and instructed all health facilities to ensure regular ILI/SARI surveillance with appropriate sample collection for diagnosis and reporting of the same on IDSP-IHIP portal.
It also directed health authorities to ensure sufficient stock of all the required doses of medicine and ensure that all healthcare workers working in high risk areas like ICU and isolation wards are vaccinated with the flu vaccine.
In view of the sudden spike in H3N2 virus infections, the Minister held a meeting with the technical advisory committee and senior officials on Monday.
To resume vaccination
Addressing a press conference on what transpired in the meeting, he said, “Influenza vaccination is given every year and all healthcare workers are instructed to get it.” The vaccine was given till 2019 and was discontinued later owing to COVID-19. Now it would resumed in all 31 districts, he said.
The Central government in its guidelines has set a target of 25 tests per week and, “We are screening 25 cases of SARI and ILI in Victoria and Vani Vilas Hospitals to keep track of the variants,” he said.
The infection can be seen in children under 15 years of age, and in senior citizens over 65 years of age. Pregnant women are also more likely to get infected. He said that the spread of infection can be prevented through measures like cleanliness, preventing crowding, and hand hygiene.
Number of cases
Providing statistics of cases, the Health Minister said 20 cases of H1N1 and 26 cases of H3N2 were detected from January to March this year. Two cases of this infection have been found in Bengaluru. There were also 10 cases of Influenza B 10 and 69 cases of Adeno virus infection in the same period.
“Many people have been consuming antibiotic pills on their own. Experts have said that it is not right to take medicine without doctor’s advice and have advised not to take antibiotics unnecessarily. Medicines need to be given based on symptoms,” the Minister said.
Even before the start of summer, temperatures have been on the rise and this is causing health issues, said the Minister. “Avoid exposure to sun from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Drink at least 2-3 litres of water, buttermilk, fresh water, fruit juices,” he said, underlining the need for hydration.
“This infection will clear out within 2-5 days. People who have had COVID-19 earlier seem to have more cough when infected,” said Dr. Sudhakar.
Price for testing
A committee has been formed to cap the price of testing for this new infection. “We are taking measures to ensure that testing is available at low rates,” the Minister said. He added that the fee for the examination would be fixed after the report was received from the committee.
