Sidhima Choudhary, Pune
The cases of a contagious viral illness, Hand Foot Mouth Disease, are on the rise in Delhi and Kolkata among infants and young children from the age group of 1-7, causing blister-like rashes, high fever, sore throat, and dehydration.
Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease is a common infection of Enterovirus commonly as “summer flu,” caused by Coxsackievirus. The illness starts with a fever followed by a sore throat, and dehydration, causing painful blisters on your hand, mouth, and feet. The sores make it difficult for the children to eat and drink.
The disease is getting more prevalent in the monsoon and spreads through personal touch, coughing, sneezing, and contaminated places such as a surface or feces. The level of contagiousness might be high in common settings such as daycares or schools for young children.
Sumita Saha, a pediatrician in Fortis Hospital, Anandapura, Delhi came across 5-6 cases as the cases spike in monsoon which is higher than usual. Some people also show atypical symptoms such as no rashes and sore throat.
The rashes on the body look red which might also cause severe complications like viral encephalitis and meningitis. Atul Gogia, senior consultant at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, head of Infectious disease described HFMD as self-restraining in about two weeks, stating “The treatment is indicative and close contact and respiratory isolation should be used as prevention.”
Poonam Sidana, director of Neonatology & Paediatrics at CK Birla Hospital, Delhi addressed that the hot and humid weather creates a complete environment for the virus to evolve leading to more cases.
There have also been cases of misinterpretation of HFMD with Tomato flu, first identified in the Kollam district, Kerala carried by mosquitoes. This flu also saw the rise of blisters and was highly contagious which were transmitted by touching dirty surfaces and putting dirty things in the mouth.
HFMD cases have also been reported in Japan. The latest National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) reported that around 35,960 cases were reported from 3000 monitoring medical institutions till July 7. The symptoms here include loss of appetite, feeling unwell, skin rashes, and sore throat.