Quoting WHO's adviser Dr Keiji Fukada, Dr Sanjay Marathe revealed that this time around the pandemic might take a more deadly form, affecting 30% more people than earlier.
Differing a bit from these views, at an IMA conference, physician Dr Pradeep Mishra said that the virus is more prevalent in colder climes and not tropical countries like India. "Many deaths are recorded by road accidents and tuberculosis. Our priorities should differ from other countries," he added.
Dr Pallavi Bhargava, a consultant in infectious diseases and travel medicine from Pune, has seen many cases of the dreaded disease last year. She was in the city to share her experiences at the national conference of paediatricians. She pointed out that while last November there had been a flood of swine flu cases, there have been no cases in the month so far.
Many doctors also believe that even if the flu does break out, it would not be as hazardous this time, due to the phenomenon of herd immunity. This occurs when a large part of the population has become resistant to a disease, having either been vaccinated or survived the disease earlier. This way, the rest of the populace remains protected despite not being vaccinated. Dr Bhargava suggests a wait-and-watch approach for now. "I would only advise to go in for vaccination on a mass scale if the transmission occurs," she said.
Dr Kuldeep Sukhdeve of Orange City Hospital and Research Centre, one of the few city-based hospitals authorised by the government to treat the disease, couldn't agree more. "Yet, the more vulnerable sections of the population, especially schoolchildren and senior citizens should be vaccinated," he said.
In addition, Dr Sukhdeve, made it clear that there should be no panic or hasty decisions, which might be very expensive. As Dr Mishra put it, "It's only a virus not a monster. Taking all necessary basic precautions is all we need to worry about."
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