AHMEDABAD: Even as summer has set in, the flow of swine flu cases have remained unabated in Gujarat . With 118 deaths till March 10, the state ranks second in the country, after Rajasthan, in terms of both deaths and number of cases in India.The recent Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) put the number of cases at 3,969, with the state recording an average of 57 cases daily or 2 cases per hour.On Monday, 47 new cases of H1N1 were reported including 16 in Surat and 11 in Ahmedabad. With one death, the total death toll according to the state government has reached 123. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) data states January had recorded 213 cases and two deaths. The following month (February) reported a sharp spike with 780 cases and 18 deaths. This month, there have been 274 cases and five deaths, taking the total in 2019 to 1,267 cases and 25 deaths in Ahmedabad city. From March 11 to 17, the city reported two deaths of men in their fifties, both from Naroda area.“The disease, spread by the H1N1 virus, is typically seen in monsoon and winter seasons when the lower temperature provides a conducive environment for growth of the virus. New cases are expected to drop in numbers as temperature rises in summer.However, this year even in mid-March, the temperature is below normal and thus the cases are still continuing,” said a city-based epidemiologist. “The numbers might take a plunge by the end of the month,” he said, adding that a majority of the cases are reported late, increasing the mortality.Gujarat however has better survival rates compared to states like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh where there are fewer deaths from swine flu cases, said experts.

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