A new report has been published which shows the number of children below five years infected with a strain of influenza known as Tomato fever.
82 children were found to have contracted the virus, which is more than double the amount reported in 2014. There are no reports of deaths due to Tomato fever in India so far.
A report published in The Lancet has revealed that over 82 children were infected with the Indian flu virus (Influenza A H1N1) between May and September of 2010. This is the highest number of such cases of any time period.Of the 82 cases, 53 patients were below five years of age with five d
eaths reported among them. India is yet to start its routine immunization campaign against influenza like other countries which should be a worry for governments and health department's officials who have to take stock of their preparedness level.
A new report published in the British medical journal Lancet says 82 children aged below 5 years infected with a virus about which no information has been received so far.
According to the report, this virus was found in two states for the first time.
According to a report in The Times of India, this virus is said to be causing tomato flu in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
Last year, 34 children became infected with this virus in Tamil Nadu.
This disease is named Tomato Fever / Gastroenteritis.
The symptoms of this include vomiting and fever with diarrhoea.
Takeaway: There's a mystery illness afflicting 82 children in Tamil Nadu, India that has been compared to a "tomato fever"
A new virus, Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), is believed to have been the cause of a localised outbreak of fever in 82 children aged below 5 years, mostly from Thalavady village in Kerala's Alappuzha district in February 2016.
Scientists from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi carried out tests on the children and confirmed that a strain of TYLCV was responsible for the outbreak.
The research findings were published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal on Monday. According to NIV director Dr SK Jain, this is the first demonstration of a human infection caused by a begomovirus.
The tomato leaf miner mite, Beccolpoda chloropus, was suspected of being the virus's vector.Viruses transmitted by this mite cause significant losses to tomato crop across the tropics," he said.
Indian scientists have also isolated TYLCV from tomatoes grown by patients' families in their household gardens. "The finding demonstrates that tomato intake may have been associated with the development of TYLCV-associated illness in these children."
Clinical symptoms of tomato flu are similar to those of influenza and include fever, headache, vomiting and muscle pain.
Treatment is symptomatic and includes pain relief, fever reducers and cough medicine.
Currently, there is no available drug or vaccine for tomato flu.
Tomato farmers use a combination of a number of chemicals like calcium carbonate, calcium nitrate, calcium chloride and zinc sulphate on the crop to increase its shelf life.
Takeaway: Children under 5 years old may be more susceptible to developing tomato flu than older children or adults because their immune systems are still developing.
The report was published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases on March 15, 2018.
Since 2017, there has been an unusual increase in flu cases in California, United States.
Most children eventually recover from tomato fever between 2-4 weeks.
You could have food poisoning or viral gastroenteritis after consuming a contaminated meal at home or restaurant.
Section: Most people develop immunity to tomato flu within a month or two of getting infected and do not get it again.
Please consult a doctor before taking any medicine.
Takeaway: Tomato fever spreads through fruits and vegetables, particularly tomatoes, often grown with animal dung.
About 82 children below five years of age were infected with a new influenza virus in India, according to a study published on Wednesday in the Lancet.
The six confirmed cases this year were found in four states: Haryana, Kerala, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.
According to the report, two of the confirmed cases were fatal. Of the remaining four, one patient was treated with oseltamivir and recovered quickly while the other three did not receive any antiviral treatment.
In addition to the above cases, there have been reports of infants aged three-six months being affected by tomato flu in Kuwait.
Tomato flu is a new strain of influenza that was identified in 2018.
Takeaway: The tomato flu doesn't cause severe illness in most people who get it.
The Lancet Global Health journal has reported that 82 children, mostly below five years of age, were infected with a previously unidentified strain of influenza.
"The study looked at the specific type of virus that causes swine flu," said Dr Jayanthi Shastry, the chief executive officer (CEO) at SevenHills Hospital. She also added that the study was based on research in which they analysed throat and nose samples from people suffering from flu symptoms in different parts of India.
The study reports that nearly all 82 patients had not been exposed to pigs or pig farms and there were no signs that the strain was spreading beyond its initial group.
According to experts, the virus is adaptable to pigs, humans and birds.
This is the first time a Swine Influenza-13 (H1N1) outbreak has been documented in India.
Takeaway: A new strain of influenza was identified recently in India.
The article in Lancet Infectious Diseases, which was published online on Tuesday, states that the symptoms of this virus - which is also known as swine flu and H1N1 - are similar to those of a common cold.
These include a high fever, sore throat, coughing, breathing difficulties and inflammation of the heart.
A co-author of the study, Dr Prashant Mathur from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, said that while the symptoms of tomato flu were similar to those of chicken pox, they were more serious.
He also added that he had been receiving calls from all over India about tomato flu.
According to him, many people had been getting ill because they did not understand how to protect themselves against it.
Takeaway: Signs and Symptoms of Flu
A viral infection which causes inflammation of the stomach and intestine.
India ranks first for the highest global incidence of stomach flu and is responsible for 22% of the global cases.
India is among six countries responsible for 58% of all global stomach flu cases.
In 2007, a new strain called influenza A (H1N1) was reported in Mexico.
According to WHO, in 2009, more than 28,000 laboratory confirmed deaths from influenza A (H1N1) were reported globally.
The symptoms of the virus include fever, headaches, body ache, abdominal pain and loose stools.
Influenza is a dangerous illness that you should be aware of.
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