New Delhi: Doctors have claimed that a new disease like corona is starting. Due to this concern has arisen in the medical world. Dr. Randeep Guleria, President and Director of Medical Education, Institute of Internal Medicine and Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, on Monday, appealed to the people to be cautious about H3N2 Influenza spreading in the country.
Currently, we are witnessing a rise in cases of Influenza presenting fever, sore throat, cough, body ache, and runny nose, said Dr. Guleria. H3N2 is a type of influenza virus that we see around this time of year every year, he said. But it is a virus that mutates over time which is called antigenic drift.
We had a pandemic of H1N1 several years ago, he said. The circulating strain of that virus is now H3N2 and is therefore a common influenza strain. But we are seeing more cases because the virus mutates a little bit, the immunity that we had to the virus wanes a little bit and so susceptible people get infected more easily.
Dr. Guleria said it spreads through droplets in the same way as Covid. Only those people who have chronic diseases need to be careful. Wear a mask as a precaution, wash hands frequently, and keep physical distancing. There is also a vaccine for influenza for high-risk groups and the elderly.
