A sneeze here raises eyebrows and coughing makes people nervy. It goes without saying that you are in Pune, which has emerged as the epicentre of swine flu with its 100th victim.

A lurking fear pervading the city for the last three months after the death of 14-year-old school girl Reeda Shaikh on August 3 - India's first H1N1 fatality - has hit social life but Pune, with its population of 35 lakh, is braving the pandemic which has killed 206 people in Maharashtra.

When 28-year-old Mohini Undre was declared the 100th victim of H1N1 in Pune on Thursday, turning the toll three digit, fresh concerns came haunting the health officials and common people alike over the possibility of a more virulent "second wave" with the onset of winter.

Dr Arun Jamkar, Dean of Government-run Sassoon Hospital, which has borne the brunt of most swine flu deaths with admission of critical cases, says "a second wave is totally unpredictable. We have to be completely prepared to meet any eventuality that the virus can bring to us."

The hospital, the main referral centre in Western Maharashtra, has submitted a plan to the State Government envisaging a better infrastructure for management of rising swine flu cases in Pune putting up a demand for over 100 ventilators to treat emergencies to save lives.

"We have also asked for starting additional ICU facilities for swine flu patients in other civic and government hospitals and more ambulances to transport patients needing ventilation support," Jamkar said.

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