• Patients asked to follow protocols required for Covid
• Expert says no need to panic as most people are recovering without complications

KARACHI: As cases of influenza continue to climb across the city with symptoms including cough, fever, chest tightness and complaints of headache, a host of factors, most importantly the poor air quality, have been attributed to the rising cases of the illness, it emerged on Saturday.

Information gathered from health experts working in the private and public sectors revealed that while influenza cases were reported almost every year with the onset of winter, this season had been seeing a continued wave of the illness that still persisted, though hospitalisation and mortalities had been very low, largely involving the elderly.

“Every second patient that we have been examining at our clinics over the past few weeks is suffering from the flu. Most of them are presenting with cough, fever, chest tightness and complaints of headache,” senior general practitioner (GP) Dr Altaf Hussain Khatri, also representing the Pakistan Medical Association-Karachi, said.

Some of these cases were traced to be Covid, he pointed out, while referring to the experiences of his colleague physicians.

“There were also patients who seemed to have Covid but were not tested for the illness. In both cases, we ask patients to follow all protocols required for Covid,” he said, while linking the respiratory infections to environmental factors, including deteriorating air quality.

According to Dr Abdul Wahid Rajput, Medical Superintendent of the Sindh Infectious Disease Hospital, the facility has been seeing a higher load of flu cases since mid-December.

“Out of the 750 flu patients who reported at our clinics, 200 were children. There were 56 admissions with no mortality. Some patients tested positive for Covid,” he said, adding that hospitalisation involved patients with compromised immunity and the elderly reporting with multiple health problems.

However, Dr Yayha Tunio, deputy executive director at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, was of the opinion that the pattern was similar to what was seen every year in the winter season.

“There is no reason for alarm. Most people are recovering without experiencing any complications,” he said, while emphasising the need for preventive measures.

Mortalities reported

The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) has also seen a surge in influenza cases this season starting from October.

“While testing was limited in November and December, our laboratory has reported close to 100 cases each month,” said Dr Faisal Mahmood, head of the Infectious Diseases Department at the AKUH.

He explained that the influenza virus, like the virus which caused Covid (the SARS CoV2 virus), might cause severe disease.

“This includes coughing, body aches, high fever and even death. In fact, this season we have had some deaths as well, especially in the elderly and in those with other medical problems,” he revealed.

Dr Mahmood seconded the opinion that the 2023-24 season had seen a higher number of influenza cases as compared to the last 2022-23 winter season.

“It’s three to four times higher this season compared to last season. This season the strain is H3N2. Last season it was H1N1 (what used to be called swine flu in 2009).”

About the reasons behind the higher number of cases, Dr Mahmood said the virus mutated every year and so every few years there’s an outbreak.

“Also the influenza vaccine coverage is poor. Finally, the immunity against the virus in the community is also lower than the pre-Covid period as influenza rates had dropped because of the precautions people were taking for Covid.”

About prevention, Dr Mahmood said there was a medicine available which reduced the risk of severe infection, but it needed to be used early.

“The prevention is similar to the way we prevent Covid. Masking especially if one is sick and keeping hands clean. There is a vaccine, which is updated every year as the influenza virus keeps mutating. The ideal time to get the vaccine is in October or November.”

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2024