Influenza: Pregnant mums take care
It is just the flu.
This bug that most people are able to ward off in a couple of days with lots of liquids, spending time in bed and may be swallowing paracetamol eight-hourly, could act drastically differently in those expecting babies.
Reiterating that catching influenza while being pregnant is not abnormal, Consultant Virologist Dr. Jude Jayamaha who is the Head of the National Influenza Centre (NIC) of the Medical Research Institute, however, explains that expectant mothers are a “very vulnerable group”.
Dr. Jude Jayamaha
A majority of people will recover from this viral infection that is influenza, but those who are in certain physiological states should be extra careful, he urges, and this includes expectant mothers.
To the query why, Dr. Jayamaha points out that the immune system of those who are expecting babies is not like that of other people. Since the baby developing in the womb also keeps moving upwards, the mother’s breathing capacity becomes less and when there is an onslaught by the influenza virus, fluid can very easily accumulate in the lungs.
“This can quickly develop into pneumonia,” he says, pointing out the dangers. The change from the common cold and cough which is rampant could be subtle. This is why the danger signals should be taken into account and these would be having fever for more than a day, in addition to the cough and cold, accompanied by difficulty in breathing.
He goes onto explain that the current outbreak of influenza is not the ‘bird flu’ or the ‘swine flu’. This the medical experts know for sure because the NIC conducts active surveillance to ascertain patterns as well as identify influenza viruses.
“The prevalence of influenza is high during the rainy season. Its patterns are coincidental with the onset of the monsoon,” says this Virologist, adding that of Influenza A and B, the latter co-circulates at a lower magnitude.
Influenza A is found more commonly with H1N1 and H3N2 being in circulation but the current bug doing the rounds is H1N1.
