After coronavirus and monkeypox, India seems to be headed towards a new headache — tomato flu — with Haryana, Tamil Nadu and Odisha reporting cases of the rare viral infection which mainly hits children with symptoms such as fever, rashes, and joint pain. The name of the contagious disease comes from its main symptom — tomato-shaped blisters on several body parts. The blisters start as red-colored small blisters and resemble tomatoes when they enlarge.
According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Tomato Flu was first identified in the Kollam district of Kerala on May 6 and as of July 26, more than 82 children younger than 5 years with the infection have been reported by local government hospitals.
As Kerala struggled to control the infection, 26 children (aged 1-9 years) were reported as having the disease in Odisha. To date, apart from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Odisha, no other regions in India have reported the disease in their State/UT by the virus.
What are the Primary Symptoms?
Tomato flu, a variant of the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease, is characterised by fever, sores in the mouth, skin rashes. It begins with mild fever, poor appetite and often a sore throat. One or two days after the fever begins, small red spots appear, which change to blisters and then ulcers. These sores are usually found on the gums, tongue and insides of cheeks, palms and soles.
In children with these symptoms, molecular and serological tests are done for diagnosis of dengue, chikungunya, zika virus, varicella-zoster virus, and herpes; once these viral infections are ruled out, a diagnosis of tomato flu is considered.
Is Eating Tomatoes Problematic Now?
There are myths that the flu has some significance with tomatoes. However, the reason why it is called ‘Tomato’ is because of the red and painful blisters that appear throughout and grow gradually to the size of a tomato.
What is the Treatment Available?
HFMD occurs mainly in children under 10 years of age, but it can occur in adults too. There are no disease-specific medications available. Treatment is similar to other viral infections i.e. isolation, rest, plenty of fluids and hot water sponge for relief of irritation and rashes. Supportive therapy of paracetamol for fever and body ache and other symptomatic treatments are required.
Isolation should be followed for 5-7 days from the onset of any symptom to prevent the spread of infection to other children or adults. The best solution for prevention is maintenance of proper hygiene.
Samples from the throat or stool may be sent to a laboratory to test for isolating the virus involved in causing the illness, which may take two to four weeks to obtain the laboratory results. The testing should be done for the investigation of an outbreak so that preventive measures can be initiated
So far, no antiviral drugs or vaccines are available for the treatment or prevention of tomato flu.
What Lancet Said
According to an article in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine, “the rare viral infection is in an endemic state and is considered non-life-threatening; however, because of the dreadful experience of the Covid-19 pandemic, vigilant management is desirable to prevent further outbreaks”.
The Lancet article says tomato flu could be an after-effect of chikungunya or dengue fever in children rather than a viral infection.
It adds: “The virus could also be a new variant of the viral hand, foot and mouth disease, a common infectious disease targeting mostly children aged one to five years and immunocompromised adults, and some case studies have even shown hand, foot and mouth disease in immunocompetent adults.”
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