Medical experts are advising the people to test the symptoms of Influenza first., and ask to decide wheather it is covid or Influenza.
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“Influenza has been in the country for years and H3N2 and H1N1 have been in the country for years. These influenza viruses are not new. We have a very good surveillance programme in place. ICMR has an extensive network where samples are picked up and we know what is happening. There has been an upsurge in influenza-like illnesses but there is no considerable increase this year. Around this time, Covid-19 cases were occurring last year. Around 30,000 cases were being reported on a daily basis. At the same time over 400-500 cases of influenza were reported but no one paid much attention. Now Covid-19 cases are fewer and hence now influenza cases are more visible and are being reported.”
According to health experts — the symptoms of Covid and influenza are very similar in nature. “You have fever, upper respiratory tract symptoms, nasal congestion. On the basis of symptoms, one cannot say what kind of influenza virus a person is affected by. So on the basis of clinical symptoms, one cannot differentiate. Lab tests in such cases become important to determine what the person is suffering from. Particularly a person with comorbidities like kidney disease, lung disorder, someone who is on medication…they should be more careful. For such people, influenza virus or Covid virus, the risk increases by 6 to 10 times. So the person needs to be careful and get tested,” experts revealed.
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Though the symptoms of Covid and influenza are similar, H1N1 or H3N2 are usually not life-threatening like SARS-CoV-2, said by the experts. “This is due to biological reasons. Our bodies were exposed to Covid for the first time, hence the risk of infection was higher. Various influenza viruses have been circulating for over 100 years or so and all of us are exposed to them, hence the risk of severity decreases. There are changes in the antigen but the severity is not that concerning,” experts said.
