PANAJI
The trend of rising influenza cases is not worrisome and, as the monsoon wanes in September, these flus will also proportionately decline, a top health official has said.
“It is true that influenza cases have risen, as they do at this time of the year when the monsoon climatic conditions are favourable to viruses which cause them. But in September the cases will also begin to decline,” State Epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar said.
“This influenza wave happens in the peak monsoon months of June, July and August because of viruses. All these illnesses are virus-fuelled — swine flu epidemic or H1N1 flu in 2009 and even Covid-19 in 2020,” Betodkar said.
He, however, urged caution and advised people affected by severe colds to get proper medical advice, saying that ignoring persistent colds and flu can lead to more serious conditions and pneumonia.
Also, those with comorbid conditions have to be extra cautious, he added.
Betodkar also stressed basic personal hygiene practices, as were emphasised during the Covid-19 pandemic: frequent hand-washing, as most viruses infect the human body through the hands.
Wearing masks when going outdoors was another practice that Dr Betodkar advised, to avoid catching infections due to pollution, even as he insisted that the current wave of influenza cases is nothing to worry about.
