Epidemiological profile of Influenza - A (H1N1) patients screened at a tertiary care hospital in Western India

Introduction: Swine flu influenza A (H1N1) has been one of the major public health problems in India. So this study was conducted to study the epidemiological profile of Influenza -A (H1N1) patients screened in SSG hospital Vadodara. Materials and Method: A secondary data analysis was conducted for patients screened for H1N1 during 01/08/2009 to 04/10/2010 in tertiary care government hospital, Shree Sayaji General Hospital Vadodara, Gujarat. All the relevant patients’ details were entered in Microsoft excel worksheet. Data was analysed using Epi Info software. Results: Total number of patients screened was 2440. Of which H1N1 positive patients were 245(10.0%). It was more commonly seen among age group 20 to 30 yrs and more among males (54%) as compared to females (46%). Among H1N1 positive females, 6 were pregnant and out of them 3 pregnant females died. Maximum patients were screened and found to be positive during winters (January and February). CFR (Case Fatality Rate) was found to be 14.7%. CFR among males (16.5%) found to be higher than among females (14.5%) and CFR is highest in 50 to 60 yrs age group. Conclusion: The epidemiological trend of H1N1 patients screened at SSGH showed peaks during winter months and once again showing rising trend from August 2010, which may be a clue to what to expect in winter of 2010. Among pregnant females it is difficult to comment about mortality due to H1N1 morbidity but this cross sectional study gives us a research idea of association between H1N1 status and pregnancy. Keywords: Epidemiology, H1N1, Influenza-A, Vadodara, India