PANDEMIC INFLUENZA A (H1N1) – TREND & CHARACTERISTICS FROM A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF NORTHERN INDIA DURING 2009-2011
Knowing the trend and characteristics of a disease causing epidemic and pandemic not only helps in early detection and treatment but also in preventing an outbreak. To ascertain trends and characteristics of Pandemic Swine flu (H1N1) Influenza virus infection, from January 2009 to December 2011, a retrospective study was done with the medical records of all suspected cases of swine flu from a tertiary care hospital in Northern India. Out of total 4,193 suspected patients, we observed changing trend of Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) infection, from the year 2009 to 2011 in which more of young to middle age group patients (11-60yrs) were infected by Pandemic influenza with increasing year duration (61.75%, 77.80% and 100% respectively for three consecutive years). Also, infection rate among suspected patients for pandemic H1N1 was 20.25% in 2009, 21.8% in 2010 and 10.88% in 2011, with male and female positivity ratio being 1.06, 0.6 and 1.4 respectively. So, keeping in mind of changing trends and characteristic of infection, a rapid diagnostic method like RT-PCR is important not only for timely therapeutic intervention and preventing complication but also for the identification of a beginning influenza outbreak.