Cases of ‘unusual’ fever and full-body rash reported in Mumbai | Mumbai News

MUMBAI: An “unusual” fever marked by a perplexing set of symptoms appears to be affecting many in the city. This fever typically persists for 4-5 days, with temperatures fluctuating between 99 and 102 degrees. However, what sets it apart is the onset of a full-body rash on the 4th or 5th day, accompanied by sensations of heaviness in the eyes, persistent headaches, and sleeplessness.
What’s puzzling is that despite these symptoms, patients are testing negative for common culprits like dengue, chikungunya, and malaria and other routine infections. “Fever with associated rashes often points to dengue, but these patients consistently show negative results for dengue,” said a physician from BYL Nair Hospital. This peculiar fever has been surfacing for nearly two months, he added.
Dr Neelam Andrade, director of major BMC hospitals, shared her firsthand experience with this ‘unusual flu,’ describing the rashes as pink spots that appear throughout the body and vanish within just two days. “The fever’s accompanying rash emerges on the 4th or 5th day, is relatively short-lived, typically lasting only 1.5 to 2 days. Then, on the 5th or 6th day, as rashes start disappearing, one experiences a severe joint pain,” she said, adding that all her repeated tests for dengue, malaria, chikungunya were negative. The Nair physician also added that the rash is itchy and causes discomfort. However, these patients haven’t experienced any life threatening complications, the doctor added.
Along with these distinctive symptoms, medical reports show some interesting trends. While the white blood cell (WBC) counts exhibit a slight drop, platelet levels remain within the normal range. Red blood cell (RBC) counts tend to increase. Furthermore, the elevated levels of ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and CRP (C-reactive protein) indicate the presence of inflammatory markers, the doctors added.
Viral fever and influenza tend to behave differently from time to time and sometimes the answer could lie in testing such patients for a wider spectrum of conditions, said physician Dr Pratit Samdani, who added that he has encountered at least three cases recently, where the fever presented differently. “My advice is to repeat PCR tests (molecular tests) when the initial screenings come negative for common infections,” he said.
Infectious disease expert Dr Vasant Nagvekar found that Dengue 2 and Dengue 4 serotypes, which have been prevalent more this year, tend to throw negative results initially. Even Chikungunya tests have shown negative reports when tested within first seven days. “The best solution is to do molecular tests for more confirmatory diagnosis,” he said. A Malad-based physician, however, believes that viral diseases have been exhibiting varying presentations since the arrival of Covid-19.