2,278 cases of swine flu in Delhi this year: Report

While the IDSP report limits the number of swine flu deaths to seven, the two Centre-run hospitals have reported 13 deaths due to the disease this year.

While senior officials at Safdarjung Hospital said they have recorded three deaths due to swine flu this season, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital reported 10 fatalities.

Nine of the 10 people who died at RML Hospital were from Delhi, and another was from outside the city, officials said.

Seasonal influenza (H1N1) is a self-limiting viral, air-borne disease which spreads from person-to-person through large droplets generated through coughing and sneezing, indirect contact by touching a contaminated object or surface (fomite transmission like telephone, cell phones, computers, door handles, doorbells, pens, toys, etc.) and close contact (including shaking hands, hugging, kissing, etc.), an advisory by the Delhi government stated.

The symptoms are fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose and difficulty in breathing. Additional symptoms include body ache, headache, fatigue, chills, diarrhoea and vomiting and blood-stained sputum.

There are three categories of H1N1 influenza — A, B and C, with C being considered the most dangerous. The standard treatment for H1N1 is Tamiflu.