A tale of two cities

Bangalore and Pune have so much in common—unpredictable weather, floating population, pollution and a huge presence of the IT industry. Naturally, the commonality in diseases, especially swine flu. Bangalore and Pune have reported 34 H1N1 deaths each, becoming the worst-hit cities of the country. According to D Raghunath, principal executive, Sir Dorabji Tata Centre for Research, this is the peak season for transmission for influenza for both cities. “Both Pune and Bangalore are situated on the same Deccan Plateau. As this is the monsoon season, most influenza deaths are reported in these cities at this time. A fall in temperature coupled with a high humidity makes it suitable for the virus to survive,’’ he said. The moisture in both cities is much higher in monsoon rather than winter. Whereas in north India and in other tropical regions, the peak season that sees a rise in influenza cases is during November, he said. Researchers predict that in the case of Pune, influenza cases will considerably decrease from September to October. But in Bangalore, the cases will remain the same as the North-East monsoon arrives during this period. Dr V Ravi, head of the neuro-virology department at Nimhans, said suspected patients of the flu in both cities have reported late to hospitals.