Kolkata: Two children have been admitted to a city private hospital with swine flu or H1N1, even as three others have tested positive at three hospitals so far. Scores of others, including adults, have symptoms that suggest an outbreak.A three-year-old and a six-year-old, both male, were admitted to Peerless Hospital on Thursday with severe symptoms and tested positive for swine flu. A six-year-old girl tested positive on Friday but has not been admitted. While they remain stable, several other hospitals have received multiple patients with symptoms that suggest swine flu. A five-year-old boy tested positive on Saturday. One of the children at Peerless was admitted with severe convulsions triggered by high fever. The other, too, has high fever and cough. “Swine flu can lead to high fever and pneumonia. While both the children have fever, they don’t have pneumonia. But they have pneumonitis,” said Sanjukta De, head of the dept of paediatrics at Peerless Hospital. She added that another patient has tested positive for H1N1 and was being treated at home with high fever and cough. Three other patients have been reported from another private hospital in south Kolkata, where two are admitted in ICU and one was treated at the OPD. “Two of them are in a critical condition while the other is being treated at home,” said a doctor who was consulted by the hospital for these three patients. “In the last four-five days I have received numerous calls from patients whose children have similar symptoms. Many are getting tested for H1N1. This is the season when swine flu strikes since temperature fluctuations are on. We are asking patients to check if their children are vaccinated against swine flu,” said De. Charnock Hospital has received multiple patients with similar symptoms but none has yet tested positive for H1N1. “We had two Influenza A patients, both relatively young, one of whom died this week. We are receiving patients with high fever, cough and breathing distress who could be Influenza A or H1N1 patients. It is the strain that makes the virus potent and more contagious, just as Covid, which was a new strain of coronavirus. All respiratory virus patients have similar symptoms so it’s difficult to identify without a test,” said Charnock Hospital pulmonology head Soumya Sengupta.“It is difficult to prevent transmission once you are coming in close contact with a patient either at home or at work. So, if a family member is affected, hospitalisation is recommended, for it ensures isolation,” said Manipal Hospital infectious diseases physician Sayan Chakrabarty. Techno India DAMA Hospital has received several patients with symptoms over the last five days. “If the symptoms persist for 4-5 days, a nasal or throat swab test is advised,” said MS Purkait, medical superintendent. “If someone has fever, cough, sore throat and breathing difficulty, rest, adequate hydration and isolation are recommended. Seek medical advise at the earliest,” said Sarbajit Ray, consultant physician, ILS Hospitals.
