Thiruwananthapuram: The H1N1 virus is spreading day-by-day in Kerala with 12 persons succumbing to the swine flu. The virus, which re-surfaced with the onset of monsoon, is usually at its peak during the rains. Doctors said the recent spurt in the number of people suffering from swine flu was expected and was not something alarming.
Swine flu infection is caused by any one of several types of swine influenza viruses. The flu can be infected by both avian and human flu strains of influenza, and therefore are hosts where the antigenic shifts can occur that create new influenza strains. The transmission from pigs to humans is believed to occur mainly in pig farms, where farmers are in close contact with live pigs.
There has also been a surge in the swine flu cases in both Gujarat and Rajasthan. By the mid of this year, 12 lives were lost in Rajasthan.
Fourteen more people tested positive for swine flu in the national capital last week, taking the total number of people infected with the disease to 215 here.
So far, India has reported 712 swine flu cases in 2014, out of which, 490 have been cured and 222 lost their life due to influenza A.