H1N1 cases on the rise among youth?

HYDERABAD: Largely restricted to pregnant women, infants and senior citizens so far, the H1N1 virus now appears to be fast spreading among young professionals, in the 31-45 year age group. This shocking revelation came to light following a close analysis of the positive swine flu cases reported by the director of public health and family welfare, Telangana, in 2014.
Turns out that as many as 25 patients who were tested positive for this deadly virus last year, fell under this age bracket, followed by 20 cases reported from among people in the 46-60 year age group. About 14 patients were between 16 and 30 years of age.
“This is a strange as well as an alarming pattern. It defies textbook theory, which says that those with low immunity (like elders and infants) are the ones who are affected by swine flu. Those in 31-45 age group are expected to have a higher level of immunity to diseases, but that does not seem to be the case anymore,” said Dr VV Ramana Prasad, consultant pulmonologist, KIMS hospital.
In fact, all swine flu cases detected by Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM) this January, hinted at a new trend wherein most of those affected by the virus thus far are people in the 46-60 age bracket. While this group of patients reported 25 positive cases, 18 cases were reported from those aged between 31 and 45 years. The 16-30 age group reported 9 H1N1 positive cases.
While expressing surprise at the trend, Dr Ramana Prasad explained that the reason was perhaps rooted in the fast dropping immunity levels among young professionals, owing to their sedentary lifestyles and lack of exposure to sunlight. “It is scientifically established that vitamin D deficiency can decrease our immunity, easily making us susceptible to infection,” he added.
However, Dr Siddharth Marda, consultant emergency physician at Premier hospital, had a different take on the issue. “Since the working class needs to travel constantly, it is easy for them to attract the H1N1 virus as it spreads through air and most people do not follow basic etiquette while coughing or sneezing,” he said.