Citizens Should Worry More About Influenza And Not Nipah

June 26, 2018

The onset of the monsoons has raised fears of contagious diseases spreading across Pune.

This is a regular feature as mosquitoes and other bugs thrive in the wet season particularly, spreading flue and sore throat among other things.

There are also fears about the Nipah virus, which spread in Kerala. More than 15 people have been killed so far.

However, putting aside any alarm about the Nipah virus in Pune, National Institute of Virology (NIV) Director Dr. D T Mourya says the city should worry more about outbreaks of influenza.

“Influenza is highly contagious, it is a virus normally termed as flu is easily through coughs and sneezes of an affected person especially in monsoon,” he says.

NIV is the apex center for VRDL labs to improve the disease surveillance program in the country.

According to thebNIV, the Nipah virus is a new zoonosis disease that is spread through animals to humans. This virus is spread through bats, and not all bats are infected with the virus.

It is circulated among the bat population at a very low level without affecting themselves. During the outbreak of the Nipah virus, a team from NIV was sent to Kerala, to collect the samples. The team worked day and night in the forest to collect some of the bats.

Most of the time, when the NIV team is out to collect such samples, they set up field laboratories in the forest itself and work for the counteraction or detailed research of the virus.

“The institute was established as the Virus Research Centre in the city in 1953 by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) along with the Rockefeller Foundation of the US with an objective to study “Anthropoid-Borne viruses” in India,” Dr. Mourya says.

“The institute became independent came under the ICMR in 1967 and was renamed as National Institute of Virology in 1978 and the scope was broadened by the inclusion of studies of other viruses of public health importance in India.”

When asked about the work regarding any new contagious disease, Dr. Mourya says, “The research work is carried out 24×7 on the identification and characterization of etiological agents of outbreak/epidemics. There is so much that they are doing, and plenty of things which they need in order to conduct their research properly. Luckily things like these microcentrifuge tubes are available to help them with their research as well.”

“As of now, the team is working on various projects as far as the city is concerned and the team is totally focused on the outbreak of influenza.” Dr. Mourya.

“The Nipah virus infection is very rare as people don’t go near to bats. It has occurred mainly because of getting into contact with infected secretion.

“In the outbreak of Nipah in Kerala, human to human transmission has also been one of the major reasons for the spread of Nipah. The outbreak is totally contained in Kerala and there are no cases of Nipah in Pune,” Dr. Mourya added.

In the influenza situation, Dr. Mouriya says it is highly contagious in adults, 1-2 days before getting sick and up to 7 days after being sick. That simply means that you can spread this virus even before you get diagnosed with it. By doing a quick google search, identifying the symptoms of the flu can be quite simple. With this being said, if things do start to get worse or the family is yet to have their immunization to this type of illness, then it may be time to visit a facility like a family medicine clinic, as health should be the top priority.

It is highly recommended that citizens should follow these steps to have healthy monsoon:

Avoid eating raw food items, if consumed raw makes sure you wash it.
Avoid junk food.
Protect yourself from repellents, sprays and cover the windows with metal wires to avoid mosquitoes in the house.
Drain out stagnant water as it is the place for mosquito breeding. Do not overwater the plants – avoid watering or just once a day is fine
Public transport increases your risk to flu and viruses, as you inevitably touch surfaces linked with bacteria. If you travel by public transport ensure that your hands are sanitized before you eat.
If you can keep your face covered, you could always wear something like this N95 Respirator Canada has, as this might minimize the risk of you catching something.
Keep yourself hydrated, as water flushes the toxins out of the body.
It is important that one avoids getting wet in the rain. Our body can easily catch flu and viruses when there is a sudden change in the atmosphere.
Have a hot shower every day at least once at home. it helps stabilising the body and kills germs and viruses.