What Is Tomato Flu And How Does It Spreads?

Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : August 29, 2022

Tomato flu has been reported in different parts of the world, especially in India. Cases of tomato flu have been rising in Kerala and Tamilnadu, including Haryana and Odisha. In such a situation, some critical questions are reached, including about the occurrence of this particular kind of infection and how it is spread. 

The tomato flu is a kind of tomato fever with its own symptoms. It usually attacks children below the age of 5 years, and sometimes it proves to be fatal. It becomes essential to understand how it passes from one person to another and how the risk of the same can be reduced. 

Symptoms

This kind of fever is often characterized by fever and joint pain. It also causes some tomato-like rashes in children below the age group of 5 years. The symptoms can also be discovered in adults, including diarrhea and dehydration. Not only this but nausea and vomiting, including fatigue, can also be caused. 

This kind of fever comes after the people have already developed immunity to dengue and Chikungunya. After reporting these kinds of symptoms, research concerning the virus or bacteria due to which this infection is caused is being conducted. Based on the research, scientists believe this is caused by enteroviruses like Coxsackievirus A 6 and A 16.

What Is Tomato Flu And How It Spreads ?

So basically, according to the research, it can be established that this kind of infection is nothing but an after-effect of dengue fever in children. It is not an independent infection but is caused after a viral infection has infected a person. 

It can be considered a new variant of a common disease that usually targets small children below the age group of 5 and all adults affected with immunocompromisation. This fundamental research is essential to develop a treatment for this kind of infection as early as possible. Not only this, but scientists are also planning to develop a kind of vaccination for this infection. 

Causes of spread

Like a viral infection, tomato flu spreads at a very high rate. It can be because the cases of dengue and Chikungunya are increasing due to the beginning of the immunity after covid-19. The research Scholars have added to this by stating that this infection is self-limiting and there is no need to conduct a particular test for this purpose. 

But since the number of cases is increasing, it becomes essential to develop a new kind of treatment with the help of which it could be detected early and also diagnosed according to the symptoms observed in the people. Another reason this is spending at a very high rate is the opening of the schools and non-compliance with the sanitization and maintaining distance guidelines. The continuous increase of this infection has become a cause of worry to the health departments. 

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Cause of infection

It was believed that enteroviruses and coxsackievirus A6 and A16 caused this infection. But this is not the same variant of the infection that was prevalent in the year 2003. Had it been that case, then neurological changes and symptoms would also have been discovered apart from the physical changes. 

Conclusion

It can be concluded that the doctors, along with the researchers, should work effectively towards the development of a diagnosis so that this infection can be controlled as soon as possible. It is considered a convenient step with the help of which effective programming can be achieved over time. It is helpful to safeguard young children from contracting this kind of infection.

References:

🔵Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d) Flu Symptoms & Complications (Available On): https://www.cdc.gov/flu/symptoms/symptoms.htm

🔵National Institute Of Aging (n.d) Flu and Older Adults (Available On): https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/flu-and-older-adults


Nikki Attkisson

With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.

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