H3N2: State's Strategies to Curb Virus Surge

Rapid H3N2 virus spread in the country has nudged several states to take steps to curb the virus. H3N2 has been the dominant subtype lately, followed by H1N1.

Meanwhile, the Union Ministry of Health has stated that the cases arising from seasonal Influenza, including H3N2, may decline from March end.

Delhi

Dr. Kumar, Medical Director at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, stated, "Our hospital has recently inaugurated a 20-bedded isolation ward with all the facilities, including oxygen support and ventilators. A team of 15 doctors on round-the-clock duty will be in charge of this ward. We also maintain a sufficient stock of medicines. Since it is a viral disease, antibiotics have no role, so the patients must not consume antibiotics on their own."  

Maharashtra

Maharashtra health minister Tanaji Sawant stated that there are more than 300 cases of H3N2 in the state, but there is no need to panic.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan highlighted the importance of increasing community awareness and promoting the timely reporting of symptoms. Additionally, he highlighted the significance of limiting contact with individuals displaying signs of respiratory illness.

Assam

The Health Department official of Assam is actively surveying the developing circumstances of Seasonal Influenza in the state using the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network in real-time.

Karnataka

To curb the spread, the state department is monitoring the influenza variants by screening 25 cases of Sari and ILI per week at Victoria and Vani Vilasa Hospitals.

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian has arranged 1,000 fever camps in the state, 20% of which are in Chennai. He assured that the state is consistently conducting and increasing the volume of PTPCR tests and is also preparing to curtail the rising cases of H3N2.

Odisha

The Health Secretary of Odisha has ordered all district administrations to increase surveillance of influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) at both health facility and community levels.

Puducherry

The outbreak of the H3N2 virus has caused all schools in Puducherry to remain shut from March 16 (Thursday) to March 26 (Sunday).

Additionally, since January 1, the state has witnessed almost 25.4% of the tested samples to be positive for adenoviruses.