H1N1 case reported in Kerala's Kollam school, says report; check symptoms and precautions
The students reportedly developed fever on July 13, following which medical tests were conducted. In response to the suspected outbreak, health authorities have decided to screen more students from the school.
H1N1 is a highly contagious respiratory infection caused by the influenza A virus. Health experts advise that anyone showing symptoms such as cold, fever, runny nose, throat infection, breathing difficulties, or vomiting should seek immediate medical attention.
Dr. Sanjeev Kapoor, Program Clinical Director-Internal Medicine, Marengo Asia Hospitals Faridabad, says that H1N1 (swine flu) virus may affect people of all age groups: elderly, adults, adolescents and even kids. High-grade fever
Chills
Cough
Sore throat
Body or muscle aches
headache
Fatigue
Runny nose
Conjunctivitis
Difficulty breathing.
People are advised to take some precautionary measures like covering their mouth and nose with a tissue while coughing or sneezing,
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, Stay indoors if you are not feeling well and refrain from touching your eyes, mouth or nose.
Kids and elderly people ( extremes of age), immunocompromised patients, or people with any type of systematic diseases, e.g. diabetes, renal or chronic lung diseases, are at high risk for serious complications, said Dr Sanjeev Kapoor.
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The Wire
a day ago
- The Wire
Starve, Silence, Disable: New Weapons in Israel's Genocidal War
Rights This is not 'collateral damage'. It is the deliberate, systematic creation of disability. An injured man is taken to the Al-Ahli hospital following overnight Israeli army airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, in Gaza City, on March 18. Photo: AP/PTI. "Give me a voice of thunder that I may hurl imprecation upon this cannibal, whose gruesome hunger spares neither woman nor child." – Rabindranath Tagore In Gaza, the cannibal devours relentlessly – its hunger insatiable, its thirst for blood unquenched. The savagery unfolding is unprecedented, more brutal than anything recent memory can bear. Its crimes are so grotesque that one would be tempted to draw parallels with those tried at Nuremberg. The thunderous plea of Tagore seems to pale when faced with the indescribable and unsurmountable suffering that Gazans are subjected to. One must be a heartless monster to remain unmoved by the cries of children undergoing amputations without anaesthesia, lying on blood-soaked floors in overcrowded spaces. Writing in The Hindu of October 5, 2024, Farhat Mantoo of MSF-Doctors without Borders, South Asia Chapter, narrates the story of 15-year-old Abdul, who ventured out on February 10, 2024, to surprise his mum with some 'salt or flour' amid the devastation in northern Gaza. As he scoured abandoned homes, he was grievously injured during an Israeli airstrike. Abdul crawled for more than an hour before help arrived and he was taken to a hospital. With hospitals overwhelmed with casualties and critical supplies lacking, doctors were forced to perform surgery on Abdul without anesthesia. The situation has far worsened now. Denied wheelchairs and other assistive devices and robbed of caregivers, the disabled are forced to flee from one bombardment zone to another on foot – many of them crawling, dragging their bodies maimed by the violence. Homes, hospitals, rehabilitation centres – any building in the path of the Israeli Defence Forces – are reduced to rubble. This is not "collateral damage." It is the deliberate, systematic creation of disability. As a powerful submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) to its hearing in August 2025, argues, this is the "mass production of disability." The submission, by Women Enabled International (WEI) endorsed by several global organisations, including India's National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), documents an appalling reality: "Thousands have been made newly disabled due to amputations, traumatic injuries, psychological trauma, and the denial of essential medical care." According to a UNICEF/WHO update in early 2025, between 3,105 and 4,050 limb amputations were reported since October 7, 2023, in Gaza. Approximately 25% of these victims were children, equating to around 780 to 1,000 child amputees. A May 2025 report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and Christian Aid Ireland cites the total number of amputations as 4,700, with 850 of those being children. The bombs maim bodies; the siege prevents treatment; trauma decays the spirit. Disability here is not an unforeseen tragedy – it is an intended outcome, a weapon in the arsenal of genocide. Oldest logic of genocide: Target the disabled first What is unfolding in Gaza is not an isolated tragedy – it is part of a grim historical legacy. In 1994, in Rwanda, persons with disabilities were locked in churches and burned alive. In Srebrenica (Bosnia, 1995), the elderly and disabled were abandoned to die. But the most horrific was what happened in Nazi Germany where disabled individuals were the first to be exterminated, targeted under the concocted logic of racial hygiene. Under Aktion T4, an estimated 2,00,000 disabled individuals were annihilated. This program, which began in 1939, was a precursor to the Holocaust, marking the first phase in the Nazis' campaign of "racial purification". The disabled were considered "unworthy of life', a 'burden on earth' and were sent to gas chambers before the mass slaughter of Jews and other "undesirables". The submission to the CRPD Committee notes: 'History has shown that persons with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by genocides, yet they remain perpetually excluded from protection, recognition and remembrance.' In Gaza, disabled bodies are not mere casualties of war – they are actively targeted. Bombs destroy rehabilitation centres; sieges prevent access to wheelchairs; orders to displace people render the disabled incapable of fleeing. Starvation as a weapon of reproductive genocide The submission bears witness to horrors that words can scarcely capture: "Mothers must deliver babies without anesthesia. Doctors use cellphone flashlights to conduct operations. Mothers who are starving cannot produce milk. Babies die prematurely because there is no fuel for incubators." For women with disabilities, this nightmare is compounded. They are unable to flee, deprived of privacy, and at heightened risk of sexual violence. Reproductive care is denied, amplifying the terror. The Palestinian Feminist Collective has named this for what it is: 'reproductive genocide'. Occupation as a machine of disablement Even before the current onslaught, Israel's prolonged occupation of Palestine was a monstrous machine producing disability. Settler violence, home demolitions, military checkpoints and apartheid-like healthcare systems have been a form of daily warfare for Palestinians. The current destruction only deepens this crisis: "Disability-based dispossession is entrenched by the occupation. Impairment is worsened through violence, deprivation, and denial of access to care, education, and freedom of movement.' In the West Bank, disabled women and girls live under constant threat of settler violence. Hospitals are either blocked or destroyed, further exacerbating the ongoing crisis. The genocide is not only impacting people with disabilities, especially women, girls and gender diverse people with disabilities, in unimaginable ways, but the genocide has also been a mass disabling event. It has produced large scale disability – both visible and invisible. An unending mental health crisis In Gaza, mental health has collapsed under relentless siege. Continuous bombardment, loss of loved ones, forced displacement, and witnessing unspeakable horrors have pushed entire communities into collective trauma. Children and adults alike wake screaming from nightmares that never end; parents mourn silently, numb with grief. The destruction of hospitals and the shortage of mental health professionals mean that psychological wounds go untreated, deepening despair. Anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress have become widespread, yet there is no safe space to heal. Here, trauma is not a moment – it is daily life, passed from one generation to the next in an unbroken cycle. Numbers that the world refuses to see A report in Al Jazeera, dated July 24, 2025, records the death of over 59,000 Palestinians and injuries to 1,43,000 in Israeli attacks. According to Harvard Dataverse, an estimated 3,77,000 people have "disappeared," buried under rubble and left uncounted. Among them are the disabled, who are left to die because they could not escape. "Due to the actions of Israel, it is close to impossible to obtain accurate and timely data,' the submission warns. Erasure, too, is a weapon. Profiting over bodies The economy of genocide – as described by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese – is built on the dispossession and disablement of Palestinians and disability justice helps us understand and name how war, surveillance, and militarism profit from the destruction of bodies and communities. International arms sales, border militarisation and the blocking of humanitarian aid are capitalist ventures that produce and sustain disability on a mass scale. Israel's bombardment of Gaza serves as a live testing ground for AI-guided weapons, surveillance technologies and riot control tools – all of which are then exported worldwide including to India. As the submission notes: "War, surveillance, and militarism profit from the destruction of bodies and communities." From Nazi doctors conducting experiments on disabled prisoners to modern arms manufacturers boasting of "battle-tested" weapons, genocide and capitalism have always walked hand in hand. Not to speak of the 'Riviera of the Middle East' that someone is dreaming of. Convention betrayed Israel ratified the CRPD, thereby obligating itself to protect persons with disabilities, particularly in conflict. The Fourth Geneva Convention demands medical care and protection for civilians. Yet, hospitals are bombed, aid is blocked and disability services are wiped out. "Non-compliance with these obligations may constitute grave breaches of international law and warrants independent investigation and accountability." Yet, bombs continue to fall, and words like "proportionality" fill press releases. How many more? In Gaza, children wake to find their limbs gone. Mothers bury babies – premature and stillborn. Disabled women crawl across a wasteland where homes and rehabilitation centres once stood. From Aktion T4 to Srebrenica, from Rwanda to Gaza, genocide begins by marking some lives as disposable. "Persons with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by violence yet are consistently excluded from protection and remembrance." History asks us: how many more limbs, wombs, and futures must be shattered before we say enough? The silence that speaks: India's disability movement and Gaza The Indian disability movement has been strikingly silent on the unprecedented suffering of disabled Palestinians in Gaza. While global disability organisations have condemned Israel's deliberate targeting of persons with disabilities and joined calls for a ceasefire, most prominent Indian disability groups continue to look away. This silence is disturbing. It not only betrays the foundational principles of the disability rights movement – supposedly built on the rejection of hierarchies of whose lives matter – but also echoes the position of India's current ruling establishment to side with Israel. Many have been unequivocal supporters of the neoliberal trajectory and stand compromised. The disability community, which has historically stood against state violence and exclusion, now risks complicity by omission. Moreover, by refusing to engage with the mass production of disability in Gaza – children losing limbs in bombardments, denial of assistive devices, starvation used as a weapon – the movement distances itself from global disability justice. In doing so, it inadvertently affirms an unequal valuation of lives: solidarity, it seems, is not extended to Palestinians – disabled or otherwise. This selective empathy undermines both credibility and conscience, exposing a silence that itself becomes a form of violence and complicity. Muralidharan is general secretary, National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD). The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
City doctors blame ‘long Covid' for severe viral infections that have laid Kolkata low
1 2 Kolkata: The pandemic may have ended three years ago but it continues to cast its shadow on the city's healthscape. A past history of 'long or severe' Covid may have led to long-term weakening of respiratory and immune functions, making thousands in the city more vulnerable to recurrent infections, say doctors. Additionally, rapid weather fluctuations, sudden shifts from high humidity to rain, followed by intense heat combined with elevated levels of air pollution are further weakening the body's natural defences, leading to more frequent and severe infections, they say. Most private hospitals are now running at 90% occupancy with a majority of the patients suffering from Influenza A and other viral infections. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata At Woodlands Hospital, around 75% of patients currently being treated for influenza and pneumonia are Covid survivors. "Particularly those who experienced moderate to severe illness have suffered lasting architectural and functional damage in the lungs. When individuals from this group, especially the elderly, come down with flu or pneumonia, their disease tends to be more severe. The risk is further compounded if they have underlying conditions like asthma, COPD, diabetes or a history of smoking," said Dipnarayan Mukherjee, microbiology consultant at the hospital. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Container Houses In Chom Thong Container House | Search Ads Search Now Undo According to Rajdip Sen, consultant physician at BP Poddar Hospital, post-Covid pulmonary complications are making individuals vulnerable to lower respiratory tract infections. "About 30% of influenza and pneumonia patients here have Covid history. In many of these cases, we are observing increased disease severity, particularly among those who had moderate to severe Covid," he said. Immune dysregulation following Covid may compromise the body's ability to mount an effective defence against common respiratory pathogens, Sen said and added that these patients "often present with a more aggressive clinical course, prolonged hypoxia and delayed recovery, necessitating closer monitoring and in some cases, extended hospitalisation." Charnock Hospital internal medicine consultant Jayanta Dutta said they, too, are receiving a "significant" number of patients with a history of severe Covid, many of them elderly. "It's possible that the elderly have some residual damage like fibrosis that makes them vulnerable to infections now. We have also seen growth in lung diseases like asthma, upper respiratory tract infections and COPD among those who had long Covid. This group remains prone to pneumonia and secondary bacterial infections due to lower immunity," he added. Manipal Hospital Dhakuria has received more than hundred patients with respiratory tract infection over the past 10 days. "Long Covid has left some with lung fibrosis which may have flared up now. Lower resistance induced by Covid and comorbidities could also be a reason in the case of elderly patients. But most severe Covid patients have no trace of lung damage or else this outbreak would have been far worse," said Manipal infectious diseases physician Sayan Chakrabarty. MS Purkait, medical superintendent, Techno India DAMA Hospital said, "If those with prior history of Covid, especially the elderly, develop influenza or pneumonia within a year of Covid, the symptoms are more serious and may require hospitalization. Sometimes, the infections may co-occur, making the treatment complex and prolonged. We are seeing many such cases now."
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Bird Flu outbreaks surge in India: Know its symptoms, prevention and how it spreads
Bird flu, scientifically known as avian influenza, has re-emerged as a serious health issue in India. The Union government confirmed 41 outbreaks in 2025, primarily affecting 10 states: Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Odisha. According to Minister of State SP Singh Baghel, these outbreaks highlight the vulnerability of India's poultry sector and raise public health concerns due to the virus's potential to infect humans. Globally, bird flu is feared because certain strains, like H5N1 and H7N9, have previously caused human infections with high mortality rates. Understanding the symptoms, spread, treatment, and preventive strategies is essential to control future risks. What is bird flu Bird flu, scientifically known as avian influenza, is a type of viral infection that mainly affects birds such as chickens, ducks, and turkeys. It is caused by influenza A viruses, most commonly H5N1, H5N8, and H7N9 strains. While these viruses primarily infect birds, some strains can also infect humans, usually after close contact with infected poultry, bird droppings, or contaminated environments. Symptoms of bird flu in humans Bird flu symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening, often mimicking seasonal flu at the initial stage. Know the typical symptoms: High fever and chills: Early indication of viral infection. Cough and sore throat: Common respiratory symptoms. Muscle pain and fatigue: A result of the immune system fighting the virus. Difficulty breathing: Severe cases may lead to pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Unlike normal flu, bird flu often progresses rapidly and can lead to respiratory failure if untreated, underscoring the need for early medical care. How bird flu spreads to humans Transmission risk is primarily linked to direct contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces. According to experts, infection can occur through: Handling infected poultry: Touching live or dead birds, feathers, or droppings. Food preparation exposure: Slaughtering, cleaning, or cooking infected birds without proper safety measures. Environmental contamination: Visiting areas like poultry farms or markets where infected birds were present. Currently, human-to-human transmission is rare, but health authorities monitor closely due to past instances of limited human spread during major outbreaks. Is there a cure for bird flu As reported, currently, there is no permanent cure for bird flu. However, it can be treated: Certain antiviral medications can reduce severity and shorten illness duration if given early. Supportive care (oxygen therapy, fluids, rest) is essential in severe cases. For poultry, culling infected birds and strict biosecurity measures help stop outbreaks. Preventive measures to limit Bird Flu spread To reduce infection risk, experts recommend: Avoid direct contact with wild or sick birds. Cook poultry and eggs thoroughly to destroy viruses. Practice strict hand hygiene after handling raw poultry. Report unusual bird deaths to authorities for rapid containment. Public health surveillance and vaccination of poultry flocks are critical steps to reduce the chances of a zoonotic spillover (when diseases jump from animals to humans). How bird flu is more dangerous than normal flu Bird flu outbreaks impact not only public health but also economic stability, especially in agriculture and poultry. Past outbreaks have led to mass culling of birds, trade restrictions, and food price fluctuations. On a global scale, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns that certain strains could mutate, increasing the risk of human-to-human transmission, which could spark future pandemics. Higher mortality rate – Some bird flu strains, like H5N1, have a death rate of up to 60%, compared to <0.1% for seasonal flu. Risk of human transmission – Currently rare, but if it mutates to spread easily between people, it could trigger a global pandemic. Severe health impact – Bird flu often causes pneumonia, respiratory failure, and organ damage, unlike mild seasonal flu symptoms. No universal vaccine – Seasonal flu has a yearly shot; bird flu vaccines are strain-specific and limited. Economic damage – Outbreaks cause mass poultry culling and disrupt food supply chains. This content is for informational purposes only and should not replace professional medical advice. Always consult a doctor if you suspect bird flu symptoms. Also Read | Delhi's toxic air quality fuels lung cancer surge; experts warn of rising cases among non-smokers; know the 5 common causes beyond smoking
