SUDDEN RISE IN H1N1 CASES IN DELHI , 233 REPORTED ON SATURDAY

NEW DELHI: On Saturday, 223 H1N1 influenza cases, including one death, were confirmed in the capital. This is the highest number of cases reported
in a day since the infection entered the city.

Though experts rule out the beginning of the ‘‘second wave’’, they advised doctors to give full-treatment dose to those who came in contact with H1N1 positive cases and were showing symptoms of the disease.

Of the 223 confirmed cases, 131 are children. Experts say once a case or two is tested positive at a school or college or any institution, full dose of tamiflu should be given to the rest who show clinical symptoms of H1N1 influenza. The state health department attributed the high figure to awareness about the disease and more number of testing facilities.

‘‘Now people have adequate knowledge about the disease. And with five private labs testing for H1N1, people are getting themselves tested,’’ said Kiran Walia, Delhi’s health minister.

Meanwhile, one 37-year-old man died due to H1N1 influenza at Safdarjung Hospital on Friday night. His reports tested positive on Saturday. So far, 29 people have died due to H1N1 infection in the capital.

toireporter@timesgroup.com
Fact is that the swine flu in India is extremely dangerous with a death rate of 1/31. An extremely deadly figure if compared to Belgium , now leading in the world wide statistics of dead rates from H1N1 with just 1/5,498 cases closely followed by Iceland and Portugal. Obviously the countries with the best medical treatment sytems. In Germany the risk to die is double as high as in the countries mentioned above 1/ 2004)
Amazing is that countries with an elaborated medical treatment systems have a lot high death rates as e.g. :
- Switzerland : 1/310
- Austria : 1/193
- Sweden 1/133
- Japan 1/132
- The Netherlands 1/35 ( very amazing und unexplainable since it is so close to the actual leader Belgium)
- US with 1/23 on the same level as developing countries and worse than India ( the explanation for this scaring figure I leave open for US citizens)

I am still very scared to get H1N1 in India and happy to return soon the Germany , Portugal and Belgium.