Five more swine flu deaths were reported Thursday, taking the toll due to influenza A(H1N1) virus to 111 in India, health authorities said here. Of the five deaths, three were reported from Karnataka alone, followed by one death each from Maharashtra and Gujarat. While all the three Karnataka deaths were in Bangalore, the other deaths were from Pune, declared an epidemic city, and Vadodara.
With Thursday's death in Pune, Maharashtra's death toll has jumped to 58, while Karnataka's toll has risen to 31 deaths, health authorities said. In Gujarat, nine people have died of the flu so far. Meanwhile, 166 fresh cases were reported in the country Thursday, taking the total number of people affected with the flu to 4,364.
Single-dose swine flu vaccine in the works
A single-dose H1N1 swine flu vaccine may soon happen. Contrary to what was earlier expected, the vaccine against H1N1 may not be multi-dose, as results from a pilot study of Novartis H1N1 candidate vaccine revealed a strong immune response after just one shot. The vaccine might be used in trials in India as well.
Scientists from the University of Leicester, who tested the vaccine on 100 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 50, found that more than 80% of the volunteers showed a strong, potentially protective immune response after one dose, with more than 90% showing the same response after two doses.
Let the virus spread - It will result in immunity
Influenza A (H1N1) is a mild viral strain. Though it is highly infectious, it has low mortality. It kills mostly those who have complications like pneumonia or underlying chronic diseases such as diabetes or asthma. Worldwide, swine flu mortality is 1 per cent. “Almost 10 per cent people exposed to H1N1 show no symptoms. 10 per cent show very mild symptoms. If we consider the death rate, it would be as low as 0.1 per cent. In India, it is even lower,” said Jayant Deodhar, paediatrician in Pune. Besides, the virus will spread and immunity will follow infection, said N S Deodhar, a renowned epidemiologist.
Infection now would lend immunity to fight the second wave of viral attack, expected in winter. But the second wave, if it strikes as per who prediction, could be mild, said a paper published in the Journal of American Medical Association. The research team analyzed 14 global pandemics in the past five centuries. The 2009 H1N1 virus is a descendant of two unrelated swine flu viruses, said researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, USA. They analyzed H1N1 against earlier pandemic flu viruses and found very little similarity. While this does not rule out that the virus may be lethal later, the study concludes there is nothing to worry for now.
Swine flu scare fails to deter devotees in bidding adieu to Ganpati
Despite the swine flu scare, devotees came out huge numbers to bid adieu to Lord Ganesh whose idols were taken out on camel carts and other vehicles for immersion on Thursday. Though over 25,000 big and small Ganesh idols were immersed in river Tapi, the Ganesh visharjan passed off peacefully.
"Swine flu cannot stop us from worshipping Lord Ganesh. I am here with my family since morning and we will go home after bidding adieu to the last Ganesh idol passing through Chowk Bazaar," said Praveen Patel, a shop owner from Athwalines.
The drizzle in the morning played spoilsport for a while. However, soon thousands of devotees converged on the streets for visarjan to pulsating beats of drums and chants of 'Ganpati bappa morya'. There was a long queue of Ganesh idols from Bhagal to Chowk Bazaar as devotees were moving slowly to the immersion points. Pavements on both sides of the roads were occupied by onlookers. Unlike previous year, this time around the devotees abstained from playing songs from Bollywood movies. Instead, devotees including children, women and elderly were seen dancing to religious songs.
One of the Key Herbs that Prevents and Treats Swine Flu
Ayurveda , India’s traditional 'science of life,' has the remedy for swine flu in the form of the basil leaves commonly known as Tulsi. Tulsi is well known in India for its remarkable healing properties. But the anti-flu property of Tulsi has been discovered by medical experts across the world quite recently. Tulsi improves your body's overall defense mechanism, including its ability to fight viral diseases. Apart from acting as a preventive medicine, Tulsi can also help a patient recover faster.
Cow Urine, Herbal Remedies Gain as India Swine Flu Deaths Climb
The rising death toll from swine flu in India is driving some people to buy remedies made of cow- urine extract, clarified butter and herbal potions to ward off the disease, as the government restricts Tamiflu and other drugs.
Since India reported its first swine flu death in the western city of Pune on Aug. 3, more than 100 people have died from the virus. The government is controlling access to Roche AG’s Tamiflu antiviral to ensure hospital supplies in case of an epidemic. Residents have switched to traditional Ayurvedic healing, used for hundreds of years to boost immunity, as well as unproven remedies being sold to take advantage of the outbreak, doctors say.
