KARACHI: The city is seeing a spike in the number of flu cases over the past eight to 10 days, senior health experts shared on Monday, urging people to take precautionary measures to cope with changing weather conditions.

`We have been seeing patients with flulike symptoms for over a month but their numbers have just doubled over the past week, rising from 30 to 40 per day to 70 to 80 now, with the gradual seasonal shift towards winter, especially the drop in night-time tem-peratures,` said Dr Irfan Siddiqui, heading the emergency department of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

He said, `At the initial stages [of illness], people generally turn to clinics in their neighbourhoods, and it`s only when the disease takes a serious turn that they report to a hospital`s emergency department`.

He added that the large number of cases at one of the city`s key tertiary care hospitals indicated that a far greater number of people are being affected in the city and the number of patients visiting the hospital was just the tip of the iceberg.

The spike in flu cases, he said, was sea-sonal and that people with weak immune systems, the elderly and children, were more vulnerable.

Another factor contributing to the spike, he pointed out, was the general public`s reluctance to adapt their eating habits to changing weather conditions, which could make them more susceptible to illness.

Most flu patients currently reporting to the hospital, he said, were aged between 18 and 32 years and belonged to the labour class. A significant number of them were heavy smokers and drug users. `Patients are generally presenting with severe illness and taking a longer-than-usual time for recovery,` he added.

Dr Siddiqui emphasised the need to practise good hygiene and maintain healthy habits. He advised people to wash their hands frequently, stay athome when ill, avoid close contact with sick people, stay hydrated and get adequate sleep. He also advised against consuming cold drinks and water.

`Getting a flu shot every year [early fall] is the most effective step to reduce the risk of seasonal flu and potential complications. But the vaccine is costly and available only at private healthcaresettings.

As at JPMC, the number of flu patients reporting to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) has doubled in just over a week.

`The cases have jumped from eight-10 [a day] to 30 to 40. This includes people ofallage groups,thoughyounger people aged 20-30 are dominant,` said Dr ImranSarwar, additional medical superintendent and head of the emergency department at CHK.

`Perhaps it`s more contagious this time as we are getting three to five patients of the same family,` he said, adding that flu treatment was symptomatic, with only a few complicated cases requiring admission.