Bharatiya Janata Party national chief Amit Shah is reportedly seeking treatment at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) after testing positive for H1N1, also called the swine flu. He tweeted about his condition.
H1N1 or swine flu is soon becoming a year long problem, with cases being reported from the country all year round. Should you be worried? Dr Suranjit Chatterjee from Apollo Hospitals, in an earlier interview with FIT, explained the situation and told us what to do and what not to do.
H1N1 is often referred to as swine flu because it originally affected people who worked closely with pigs. The virus has since mutated and has affected lakhs of people who have never had any contact with the animal.
In 2009, the World Health Organisation declared it as a pandemic.
Dr Chatterjee says if proper precautions are taken, there is no need to panic and the situation can be controlled easily.
The increase in the number of cases being reported may be due to better facilities available for testing and increased awareness among the masses, says Dr Chatterjee. The deaths, however, happen when the patient is late in approaching the doctor. He explains that treatment is effective when the disease is caught early.
Here are the symptoms that you should pay attention to and precautions to be taken.
- Runny nose, sneezing, blocked nose, cough, sore throat, fever, headache and bodyache are all symptoms of swine flu.
- The infected person should cover the mouth and nose so that they don’t spread the virus.
- Wash your hands and cover your face in public to save yourself from coming in contact with the virus.
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