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Rare 'tomato flu' spreads to more children in India, prompting health advisory
A rare, new viral infection afflicting young children has prompted health authorities in India to issue a health advisory after over 100 cases were discovered.
Rare ‘tomato flu’ spreads to more children in India, prompting health advisory
PUBLISHED FRI, AUG 26 202212:14 AM EDTUPDATED FRI, AUG 26 20226:27 AM EDT
Karen Gilchrist@_KARENGILCHRIST
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KEY POINTS
- The emergence of a rare, new viral infection afflicting young children has prompted health authorities in India to issue a health advisory.
- Tomato flu — so called due to the painful red blisters it produces — has so far been detected in more than 100 children across three states since the first case was reported on May 6.
- Scientists say the virus, which is highly contagious but non-life-threatening, could be linked to chikungunya or dengue fever, or viral hand, foot, and mouth disease.
Tomato flu — so called due to the painful red blisters it produces — has so far been detected in more than 100 children across three states since the first case was reported on May 6.
Hindustan Times | Hindustan Times | Getty Images
The emergence of a rare, new viral infection afflicting young children has prompted health authorities in India to issue a health advisory after more than 100 cases were discovered in the country.
Tomato flu — so called due to the painful red blisters it produces — has so far been detected in 82 children aged under five in the state of Kerala, where the first case was detected on May 6.
An additional 26 cases have since been reported in neighboring Tamil Nadu state and Odisha in the east, where children as old as nine have been infected.
India’s health ministry has said that the virus is non-life-threatening but issued testing and prevention guidelines to all states this week, urging parents to be extra vigilant in checking their children for symptoms, the Times of India reported.
What is tomato flu?
Tomato flu is a highly contagious viral infection, which spreads via close contact particularly among young children aged under five.
Symptoms include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, dehydration, swelling of joints, body aches, and common influenza-like symptoms, as well as the eponymous tomato-like blisters.
Scientists are still trying to identify the route cause of the virus. However, they say “it is not related to SARS-CoV-2 [Covid-19],” despite displaying some similar symptoms, according to an article published last week in British medical journal The Lancet.
