Epidemiological and Clinical Profile of Influenza A (H1N1) Patients at Sir Takhtsinhji Hospital, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India

Background:The pandemic was officially declared by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on June 11, 2009.Compared to earlier pandemic viruses of this century, this virus has a low virulence but a unique, stronger transmission potential.This new virus was created by combining two gene segments from the Eurasian influenza A (H1N1) swine viral lineage with six gene segments from the triple reassortant swine-origin virus.Methods: This retrospective record-based study was conducted among patients of all age groups who were hospitalized and suspected of H1N1 virus infection at the Virology Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) of the Microbiology Department, Sir Takhtsinhji Hospital, Bhavnagar.A real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test was done to confirm infection and the clinical-epidemiological features of the disease were closely monitored.Result: Out of 233 patients, 38 patients were positive, the highest number of positive cases were seen in September month, 14 cases.The highest positivity rate was seen in the age group of 0-5 years, with 12 cases (31.5%).25 (65.8%) were male and 13 (34.2%)were female with Male female ratio of 1.9:1.The most common symptoms of the patients were fever 34 (89.5%)& cough 32 (84.2%) followed by breathlessness.Conclusion: Our study identified a higher number of cases in males, with the majority reported from the rural area of Bhavnagar.The most frequent symptoms upon admission were fever and cough, followed by breathlessness.The survival rate among admitted H1N1 patients was 86.85%.Fewer patients had co-morbid conditions.Prompt diagnosis and treatment can help mitigate the severity of the disease.