LAHORE – Swine flu cases are continuing to make appearance in the city as two more cases were reported in the Mayo Hospital on Thursday, Pakistan Today has learnt. Mayo Hospital MS Dr Zahid Pervaiz confirmed the entry of the two cases and added that these samples were sent by the Combined Military Hospital (CMH). To a question, he said, “Someone might have caught the virus at the CMH and is spreading it around from personal contact.”
Almost a week ago, sources at CMH revealed that the hospital has been sending two to three blood samples of Influenza A patients everyday to the Mayo Hospital for a week. CMH doctors confirmed that most of the patients were retired army personnel, and were said to be residing in Lahore or the city suburbs. Previously, almost 20 such cases were forwarded from the CMH.
“This time we received three samples, two of which have been diagnosed positive with influenza A,” said a doctor at the Mayo Hospital. Influenza A can either be swine flu or bird flu, but while examining the patterns of the disease being diagnosed around the country, senior health advisers fear that these cases have a greater chance of being swine flu. Swine flu is an influenza A H1N1 virus, just like the one that causes our typical seasonal flu symptoms.
The flu has become pandemic not only because it can easily spread from person to person but also because most of the people are not immune to it. The flu symptoms are similar to the usual flu. Fever, which is usually high, but unlike seasonal flu, is sometimes absent, while cough, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue or tiredness can be extreme, and diarrhea and vomiting, sometimes, but more commonly seen than with seasonal flu.
Signs of a more serious swine flu infection might include pneumonia and respiratory failure.
