Early monsoon showers in Gujarat have also contributed to the early spread of vector-borne diseases as well as flu-like illnesses as the state continues to see an increase in Covid-19 cases.
Gujarat Thursday reported 1,101 new cases of Covid along with one death in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).
The previous time so many cases were recorded was on February 13. At least 15 patients are on ventilator of the total 5,995 active cases, according to the daily state health bulletin. Areas under AMC continues to see a rise in cases, reporting 364 new cases.
Fever symptoms are widespread, and swine flu (H1N1), which is normally recorded during the winter months, has now been reported, with Dr. RB Patel, deputy director of the state health department’s epidemic division, stating that’sporadic cases of swine flu are being detected.’
‘Nearly a dozen cases of swine flu have been reported across the state so far. Basic symptoms are the same for both Covid and swine flu. We are also seeing an increase in cases of malaria, dengue and chikungunya, compared to last year,’ Patel said.
According to the National Centre for Disease Control data, this year, upto June 30, 2022, Gujarat reported seven cases of H1N1 with one death.
Dr Patel said testing is crucial for correct diagnosis. According to him, the rise in vector-borne cases and flu-like illnesses can be attributed to the early rain with AMC being the worst-hit significantly.
Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) data for July 28 shows that of the 2,246 cases of fever reported in Gujarat, Ahmedabad reported 505. The fever cases include those with fever for more than seven days. Only five cases in Gandhinagar and two in Gir Somnath have reported fever with rash.
Data from 81 urban health centres of the AMC shows that from July 20 to 28, new OPD cases have consistently remained at more than 6,000 cases per day. This is a sharp increase from the first half of the month between July 1 and 19, when the daily OPD cases were 3,756 on an average.
Of the total 1.25 lakh new OPD cases between July 1 and 28, 13 per cent reported symptoms of only fever, while 19 per cent reported respiratory infections with cough and cold. As many as 107 cases of hepatitis were reported and 322 cases of dysentery this month, according to the data, while 2,389 cases with gastroenteritis were reported.
Between July 1 and July 24, 136 cases of chikungunya were reported among vector-borne illnesses, with the north zone recording the most cases (29). The majority of dengue (23) and plasmodium vivax malaria cases were reported in the east zone (82).
Between July 1 and July 24, the city reported 105 cases of dengue, 11 cases of plasmodium falciparum malaria, and 315 cases of plasmodium vivax malaria.