Recent trends of pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus infection in Guwahati, Assam: A prospective study

The virus that has posed a serious public health challenge world-wide was pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza A. This prospective study was undertaken to analyze the clinical profile of 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus [A (H1N1) pdm 09] infection in patients presenting with influenza like illness from January 2015 to December 2015. A total of 116 respiratory samples were collected from the patients attending the hospitals, which included 71 males and 45 females, ranging in age from one to 79 years. Respiratory specimens were tested for A (H1N1) pdm 09 virus by one step real time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. In real-time PCR, the A (H1N1) pdm 09 virus was detected in 14 patients (12.07%) and highest percent of positivity (50.0%) was detected in the age group 25-40 years with the mean age being 40.07 ±4.43 years (SD). Most common presenting symptoms were fever (92.86%) and cough (92.86%) followed by shortness of breath (57.14%), nasal catarrh (50.00%) and sore throat (35.71%). From the study it has been seen that there is prevalence of A (H1N1) pdm 09 virus infection in Assam and thus it needs urgent attention to prevent further spread of the virus in the community. Keywords: Pandemic, Influenza virus, H1N1, Real-time RT-PCR.