Tomato fever' mild but spreading among children

Hyderabad: Just when Covid-19 and monkeypox cases seemed to be declining, the hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), sometimes known as tomato fever, has started to spread in the city.

Doctors told Deccan Chronicle that HFMD had become one of the most common diseases among children.  The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Centre have issued a warning over the rising number of instances of tomato fever among children. Medical professionals in the city concur that HFMD is a common, mild disease prevalent every monsoon.

The disease, which attracted attention after at least 82 children in Kerala contracted it, affects younger children under seven, and symptoms include mouth sores and rashes on the hands and feet. Dr Avash Pani, a consultant paediatrician at Apollo Cradle, said that HFMD was a common infection that is encountered each year.

"The disease is now widespread. We encounter at least one or two instances of HFMD every day, which amounts to one in five to ten fever cases overall,” Dr Pani said. Usually, the infection is minor and self-limiting. “Dehydration is the most frequent complication that might occur in young children who are unable to swallow water because of oral ulcers. This occurs in about 5 per cent of cases,” said Dr Pani.

Dr T. Usha Rani, professor and the head of the paediatric department at Niloufer Hospital, stated that earlier, parents would confuse the infection with monkeypox as both the conditions cause rashes, but they are more informed now.