NOIDA: Swine flu cases in the region are steadily on the rise with the number reaching eight as two more persons — a 63-year-old man and a three-year-old boy — being confirmed in GB Nagar.However, the total number of cases reported in the hospitals of the district has reached 15 including residents of neighbouring Ghaziabad and Delhi.The number could go up as the results of at least five more samples of patients are pending from the National Centre for Disease Control ( NCDC ).As at least three patients reported that they contracted the flu while travelling to other places, doctors suggest that one should avoid contact with a person with flu when on the move and even when they are in the city.While one of the patients from Delhi has succumbed to the disease, most of the affected include children and elderly people.Two of the patients — one from Noida's Sector 110 and another from Ghaziabad — are as young as three years old.Doctors said that confirmed cases of H1N1 virus were being reported after a gap of one year and the district had reported 95 cases in 2015, adding that the swine flu cases generally showed a gap of one-two years."There were no swine flu cases reported last year. However, this year, the number has reached eight," chief medical officer (CMO) Anurag Bhargava told TOI.According to officials of the health department, the swine flu cases are emerging "out of season" this year."While earlier, the cases would generally emerge after November, this year, they are being reported in summer as well. Although, it is a curable disease, the elderly and pregnant women should exercise caution and get themselves examined as early as possible if they develop any of the symptoms," Dr Vartika, from the NCDC, said.The most common symptoms of the disease are temperature, nausea, sore throat, diarrhoea, body ache and cough.According to doctors, if swine flu gets detected in the initial stages, it can go away easily with a five-day dose of Tamiflu, the most common medicine for the disease.However, if detected in the later stage, the symptoms may include nosebleeds, Vartika said.While officials said that there is no need to panic as treatment for the disease is available, they have advised residents not to ignore the symptoms of common flu."If viral fever persists for over three days, then investigation of swine flu should also be done as early detection can help the treatment," Dr Rajiv Prasad, assistant CMO, said.Wearing a three-layer mask is the best prevention from the disease, according to doctors.

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