Viral infections keep hospitals busy in Chennai

Viral infections continue to keep a number of government and private hospitals busy in the city. While a number of hospitals are seeing several cases of respiratory illnesses, some centres are seeing an increase in dengue among children and steady numbers of chikungunya.

“We continue to see cases of dengue. However, in the last 15 to 20 days, we have seen patients with chikungunya as well. Patients are reporting symptoms of joint pain. So, if the dengue test is negative, we have to think about chikungunya,” Suresh Kumar, consultant, Infectious Diseases, Apollo Hospitals, said.

In the case of chikungunya, the fever subsides in two days, he said, adding, “The joint pain is not as crippling as it occurred during the outbreak in 2007, but it is persisting for a period ranging from 10 to 14 days. There is pain, especially in the wrists and ankles, resulting in an inability to hold things and a slowing down of walking pace. There are skin rashes as well.”

Seasonal increase

At the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, doctors said that there is the usual trend of fever cases, as expected during this time of the year. There is a seasonal increase in respiratory illnesses. “There is nothing alarming. We are seeing more respiratory infections, mostly viral and self-resolving. We see children with difficulty breathing. A major chunk of them are less than one year old and have bronchiolitis,” the doctor said. The doctor added that this was a seasonal increase in respiratory illnesses.

Janani Sankar, director of Kanchi Kamakoti CHILDS Trust Hospital, said there has been an increase in the number of children with dengue since the second week of September. While some of them required hospitalisation for a few days, a few were managed as outpatients, with the warning signs explained to parents.

“Children requiring admission improve with close monitoring of vital parameters and fluid management. They are getting better and going home after a few days,” she said.

She noted that there were several cases of viral fevers. “Some children have tested negative for dengue but have fever persisting for a week with cough and cold. There are lots of respiratory infections. This includes Respiratory Syncytial Virus infections. This is more among infants. They have a fever, fast breathing, difficulty feeding and coughing, and require nebulisation. We are seeing cases of typhoid too,” she added.

Dr. Janani said that such seasonal illnesses usually peak in October and November every year.

A senior doctor at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital said that there were several cases of influenza. “We are seeing a lot of patients with respiratory symptoms and prolonged coughs. In fact, we also saw mixed infections such as dengue along with leptospirosis. It is advisable to seek medical help for any fever that persists for more than three days,” he said.