No unusual surge of influenza, well-prepared to handle spikes: Govt

New Delhi: Surveillance on respiratory illnesses shows no unusual surge of influenza in the country, the government said on Tuesday.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda chaired a high-level review meeting in the national capital, where he was informed that the country is well-prepared to handle respiratory illnesses.

Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava explained that “India typically experiences two seasonal peaks of influenza — during August-October (monsoon peak) and January-March (winter peak)”.

Nadda sought an update on the present situation and enquired whether the currently circulating strains showed any variations from historical trends.

“Influenza activity remains low, both globally and within India,” officials from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) informed the Minister.

“Surveillance indicates that the circulating strains continue to be the usual seasonal variants — H3N2 and Influenza B (Victoria) — with a small proportion of H1N1,” they noted.

Nadda was also apprised of the near real-time surveillance mechanisms, including: IDSP’s Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) monitoring network, AI-driven event-based surveillance through media scanning and ICMR’s sentinel surveillance for respiratory pathogens.

“All systems currently show no signs of an unusual surge in influenza cases,” the Minister was told.

Director, NCDC, Prof (Dr.) Ranjan Das informed that NCDC will convene a two-day national ‘Chintan Shivir on Influenza’ later this month.

Nadda also appreciated the preparedness measures underway and asked to review the influenza preparedness with all state nodal officers and ensure the readiness of all central government hospitals.

He directed that the review of preparedness in all district hospitals and Medical Colleges be completed within the next fortnight.

The Minister also advised issuing an advisory to all States and Union Territories in this regard and asked regular mock drills to be conducted at the health facilities.

IANS