A Study on H1N1 Case in Paediatrics Department of GGH/GMC, Guntur

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Influenza A (H1N1) virus infection was first seen in Mexico and later spread quickly to United States and worldwide as a pandemic including India. During the H1N1 pandemic of 2009-2010, the number of hospital admissions and mortality rates were high in India as well as globally. The goal of this study was to analyse the clinical and epidemiological profile of Influenza A positive cases which were reported in the flu isolation unit in the hospital during the year 2015 and to examine the epidemiological trends of this disease. Material and Methods: This was a hospital based study conducted in Government general hospital,Guntur Medical College which was a officially designated as swine flu nodal centre since 2009. Children with influenza like illness of category B and C were hospitalised and samples sent for confirmation. Results: Males were more frequently affected (61%) than females (39%). Majority of the children affected with swine flu belonged to the under-five age group (84.5%) and 6-15 years children accounted for only 15.5% of the swine flu cases. Fever, cough and cold (100%) were the most common clinical manifestations followed by S.O.B (25.55%), diarrhoea (11.11%), sore throat (3.33%) and convulsions (2.22%). Majority of the patients belonged to category C (55.56%) followed by category B (44.44%). Peak admissions were in the month of February (36.84%). The mortality rate was very low. Conclusion: This study has shown that the prevalence of Influenza A (H1N1) is high in the under-five children. Fever, cough and cold are the most common presenting symptoms. Though the study was mainly from a nodal hospital, the information collected was for only a limited period. A longer time study is required to understand the seasonal variation of the Influenza virus