A new viral disease known as ‘tomato flu’, has been detected among infants and school kids in several Indian states, particularly in south India, over the past three months.
The viral disease gets its name from the often tomato-shaped blisters that appear across the patient’s body, and it most commonly affects children and will typically see flare-ups in children attending kindergarten.
Nearly 100 cases had been reported in the country to date, but no death has been reported so far.
Symptoms include high fever, red rashes over the body, and intense joint pain.
The kids suffering from tomato flu also show some COVID-19-like symptoms and several other common childhood diseases, said media reports.
The treatment includes isolation, rest, plenty of fluids, and a hot water sponge to relieve irritation and rashes.
Health experts, however, recommended supportive therapy besides the use of paracetamol for fever and body aches and other symptomatic treatments are required.
Earlier, following the detection of such cases, the federal government issued an advisory directing the parents to ensure that their kids avoid hugging or touching other children.
According to the federal government, as of July 26, more than 82 children younger than five years old with the infection have been reported by the local government hospitals.
The advisory issued by the federal government stated that “tomato flu is a viral disease. This endemic viral illness triggered an alert in the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
“Additionally, 26 children (aged 1-9 years) have been reported as having the disease in Odisha.
“Although the tomato flu virus shows symptoms similar to other viral infections such as fever, fatigue, body aches and rashes on the skin, the virus is not at all related to SARS-CoV-2, monkeypox, dengue, or chikungunya.’’
The advisory said “tomato flu is a self-limiting illness and (there is) no specific drug exists to treat it.”