New Delhi: Indian doctors are saying that the description of tomato fever, said to be spreading in the country, is misleading. A few back, a report in The Lancet issued an alert on the rising cases of tomato fever or tomato flu in India. However, doctors and health experts are saying that it is a misleading colloquial name for Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).
“Tomato fever is not a scientific name. It has been loosely used to describe a common mild viral illness called Hand Foot and Mouth disease. Unfortunately, a recent publication in The Lancet claims that the lesions gradually enlarge to the size of a tomato, which is completely wrong, misleading and alarming,” India Today quoted experts as saying.
“The illness is commonly caused by the Coxsackie virus which results in small 4-6 mm red spots on the skin that later become bubbles with fluid inside. The skin lesions can appear on the hands, feet and buttocks. It spreads by contact between young children and is self-limiting, requiring only supportive treatment. It has no connection with tomatoes,” Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, a member of IMA in Kochi told the publication.
“It looks like it’s a form of HFMD with additional symptoms of joint pains and high-grade fever. Anyway, HFMD itself is a syndrome which can be caused by different enteroviruses. Symptoms vary from type of virus, age group and immunity status of the patient. In general, it’s not life-threatening in the general population,” Dr Dhiren Gupta, paediatric intensivist, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital told India Today.
The fever can also cause rashes to appear on the hands, feet and buttocks and can also cause ulcers in the mouth.
A Lancet study revealed on Saturday that India has recorded as many as 82 cases of tomato flu or tomato fever since the virus was first reported in Kerala on May 6. According to the study, the common infectious disease targeting mostly children aged one to five years and immunocompromised adults could also be a new variant of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease.
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