Tomato Flu. What you need to know?

People have been more worried than ever about potential disease risks ever since COVID-19 was proclaimed a global pandemic.

According to a recent letter published in The Lancet, the most current of these is referred to as "tomato flu," and it has reportedly infected over 100 youngsters in India.

According to the authors, the first case of tomato flu, most likely a viral illness, was discovered on May 6, 2022, in Kerala, India's Kollam district. The sickness is not thought to be life-threatening, and it eventually goes away on its own, according to The Lancet.

The disease known as tomato flu, which is named after the painful red blisters it causes, has so far been found in 82 children under the age of five in Kerala, where the first case was discovered on May 6. Since then, Odisha in the east and the adjacent state of Tamil Nadu, where children as old as nine have been afflicted, have both reported an additional 26 cases. Although the virus is not life-threatening, India's health ministry this week issued testing and prevention guidelines to all states and urged parents to be especially watchful in examining their children for signs.

The tomato flu is very contagious and spreads through close contact, especially among young children under the age of five.

Along with the characteristic tomato-like blisters, symptoms include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, dehydration, swelling in the joints, body aches, and typical influenza-like symptoms.

The virus's root cause is still being sought for by researchers. Despite sharing some symptoms with SARS-CoV-2 [Covid-19], they claim that it is unrelated, according to a report last week in the British medical journal The Lancet.

Since viral infections are widespread in children this age and propagation is most probable through close contact, children are more likely to be exposed to tomato flu. Young children can catch this virus via touching dirty surfaces, using diapers, and putting objects directly in their mouths. Given the similarity to hand, foot, and mouth illness, transmission of tomato flu could have major repercussions by spreading to adults if the outbreak in children is not contained and stopped.

Similar to other influenza strains, tomato flu is extremely contagious. Therefore, it is essential to carefully isolate confirmed or suspected cases and take additional preventative measures to stop the tomato flu virus from spreading from Kerala to other regions of India. To stop the virus from spreading to other children or adults, isolation should be practised for 5-7 days after the onset of symptoms. The greatest method of prevention is maintaining good hygiene, sanitising the immediate area, and keeping the infected child from sharing toys, clothes, food, or other objects with other children who are not ill.

Treatment

Although there are no cures, the vast majority of kids recover without any permanent damage. Rarely do children get severe side effects including encephalitis, which causes inflammation of the brain, or acute flaccid paralysis, which causes weakness in the limbs or legs.

The most effective and economical methods for protecting the public from viral infections, particularly in children, the elderly, immunocompromised individuals, and those with underlying medical conditions, are drug repurposing and immunisation. Tomato flu cannot yet be treated or prevented with antiviral medications or vaccinations. To better understand the need for prospective treatments, additional follow-up and monitoring for significant outcomes and sequelae are required.

"The most crucial thing is that the children get better. Very few suffer from severe illness, and very few end up with scars."

Summary

Children from southern India have been found to have a novel illness that resembles some mosquito-borne illnesses, such chikungunya. It's not currently life threatening. The cause is yet unknown, according to experts, but it could be a novel enterovirus like coxsackievirus, which also results in uncomfortable blisters. Additionally, they claim that there is little population spread risk and that Americans shouldn't have too many concerns.