It's raining virals as temp see-saw triggers diseases

Time of India

4 days ago

Kolkata: The drop in temperature, triggered by consistent rain over the past week, has led to another cough-and-cold epidemic in the city, with hundreds suffering from upper respiratory tract infection and persistent cough.
With the maximum temperature dipping to 27°C on Wednesday, multiple respiratory viruses are again on the prowl. Most patients are experiencing a mild fever followed by a persistent cough that refuses to go. There has been a spurt in Influenza A (H1N2), para-influenza, rhinovirus, and enterovirus, said doctors and microbiologists.
Peerless Hospital detected 20 cases of Influenza A in the last month. "This is the time of seasonal influenza or Influenza A, and many got tested with symptoms.
We also got para-influenza, rhinovirus, and a couple of Covid cases in viral panel tests in the last week. This could last weeks, going by the temperature fluctuations and the consistent rain," said Peerless Hospital chief microbiologist Bhaskar Narayan Chaudhury.
Many were treated for high fever, upper respiratory tract infection, and cough at Charnock Hospital. "We detected cases of Influenza A, enterovirus, and adenovirus.
Since few tests are done, it is difficult to say which is the dominant virus now. We are treating patients symptomatically, and a dry, persistent cough has been the most common among patients. It refused to go even after the upper respiratory tract infection receded," said Charnock Hospital infectious diseases physician Subhayan Bhattacharya.
But most responded to antihistamine drugs, and few needed hospitalisation, he added.
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Around six Influenza A patients are admitted at Manipal Hospitals' Mukundapur and Dhakuria units with fever, body ache, and an upper respiratory tract infection resulting in a severe cough. "These are the most common symptoms, though we also received Influenza A patients with just fever and body ache. Most, however, have a respiratory tract infection and cough," said Manipal Hospital infectious diseases physician Sayan Chakrabarty.
"This is the period when the mercury starts going up and down, leading to a spurt in viruses. Seasonal viruses are extremely contagious but rarely fatal unless the patient has an accompanying bacterial infection," said internal medicine consultant Arindam Biswas.
Scores of children are suffering from high fever and breathing distress, according to paediatrician Shantanu Ray. "The accompanying symptoms, like body ache, headache, diarrhoea, and vomiting, have been very severe. We came across a few who had just severe headache, and a viral panel test revealed Influenza A. Some were also diagnosed after a bout of severe vomiting," Ray said. Those above 65 and below 12 are susceptible to bacterial infections while suffering from viral fever.