BENGALURU: The death toll due to H1N1 in Karnataka this year has climbed to 31, according to the Health Department’s daily report on Saturday. However, doctors at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, which acts as the nodal centre for infectious diseases such as H1N1, say that there is no need to worry. In 2017, there were only 15 deaths reported but 3,260 people tested positive for the virus.
There were 1,231 positive cases of H1N1 and 31 deaths in the state as on Saturday. Just 24 hours prior to this, the report released on Friday said there were 1,215 positive cases of H1N1 in the state and 19 deaths. When asked about the significant increase in the number of deaths by 12, doctors said this may be due to the delay in the completion of the death audit process, in which the Health Department determines whether the cause of death was indeed H1N1.
Dr C Nagaraja, Director of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, said, “In our hospital there were 20 deaths but the climb in statistics may be because of the official process. Both our inpatient and outpatient numbers have come down. We have four patients admitted of which two are confirmed H1N1 cases. OPD suspected H1N1 cases would be 18-19 per day but now they are eight or nine. On November 23, there is another death audit meeting in which more cases will be examined by the department.”