“Apart from the anti-allergy medicines, we are also giving antibiotics to treat patients and the advice is to stay indoors, rest, maintain social distance and go for all the tests that the doctor advices,” explains Dr Singh.
THE clinics at GMSH 16 are recording an increasing number of cases of seasonal flu, with change in season, rains and high humidity. High fever, body aches, nasal discharge, cough and phlegm are some of the major symptoms that patients are seeking treatment for and according to Dr Paramjit Singh, Deputy Medical Superintendent, GMSH 16, the flu this season is continuing for a week to 10 days, with the fever going high and body ache persisting for long.
“Apart from the anti-allergy medicines, we are also giving antibiotics to treat patients and the advice is to stay indoors, rest, maintain social distance and go for all the tests that the doctor advices,” explains Dr Singh.
“The cases of flu are high in number and many people are coming to the clinics with Covid-like symptoms, and while this is the case every year, it is more noticeable because of the pandemic. High fever which persists for long, is a major sign, and we are doing Rapid Antigen tests in clinics and OPDs, and whenever there is a doubt, we get an RTPCR, though most patients are Covid negative,” says Dr VK Nagpal, Medical Superintendent, GMSH 16. The doctor also points out that despite the fall in the number of Covid-19 cases, the post-Covid clinic in Medicine Department is operational, with people seeking help post recovery for general weakness, fatigue, low appetite, anxiety, fatigue, muscle weakness, and issues with mobility. “Sometimes, there is an inflammatory response from the body, after Covid-19 infection, especially in serious and hospitalised cases and these are some of the lingering issues that people face post-recovery even after many months or even a year,” adds Dr Nagpal.
Some parts of the country are also witnessing cases of Nipah virus (NiV), a zoonotic virus, meaning that it initially spreads between animals. According to Dr Vikas Bhutani, Director, Internal Medicine, Fortis Hospital, NiV can spread to people from direct contact with infected animals, such as bats or pigs, or their body fluids. Infection with NiV, he says, can cause mild to severe disease, including swelling of the brain (encephalitis) and potentially death.
“Initial symptoms typically appear in 4-14 days following exposure to the virus and are fever, headache, cough, sore throat, difficulty breathing, vomiting. Severe symptoms may follow, like disorientation, drowsiness, or confusion, seizures, coma, rain swelling (encephalitis). Currently there are no licensed treatments available for NiV infection. Treatment is limited to supportive care, including rest, hydration, and treatment of symptoms as they occur. We have no reported cases of NiV to date, but yes, we are seeing an increasing number of non-Covid flu cases due to viruses, influenza, etc. Of course, we do see cases of long Covid in persons who have recovered from Covid,” says Dr. Bhutani.
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