Tomato Flu is a viral disease. The name “Tomato Flu” comes from the main symptom of this disease, the tomato-shaped blisters on several body parts. Primary symptoms observed in children are fever, rashes and pain in joints, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, dehydration, swelling of joints, body aches, and common influenza-like symptoms. Tomato Flu: 100 cases reported in children below 9 years in India.
With more than 100 cases of Tomato Flu reported in younger children below 9 years of age in India from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Odisha, the union health ministry has issued an advisory on Tomato flu also known as Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) suggesting with symptoms, treatment and prevention citing that the infection is common in school going children.
It begins with mild fever, poor appetite, malaise, and often a sore throat. In May, Tomato Flu was first identified in the Kollam district of Kerala and till 26 July more than 82 children younger than 5 years with the infection have been reported by the local government hospitals. The other affected areas of Kerala are Anchal, Aryankavu, and Neduvathur.
“This endemic viral illness triggered an alert to the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Additionally, 26 children (aged 1–9 years) have been reported as having the disease in Odisha by the Regional Medical Research Centre in Bhubaneswar. 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,” said the health ministry.
“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. Tomato Flu is a self-limiting infectious disease as the signs and symptoms resolve after a few days.
It seems, the disease is a clinical variant of the so-called hand-foot-mouth disease that is common in school going children. Infants and young children are also prone to this infection through use of nappies, touching unclean surfaces as well as putting things directly into the mouth,” the ministry said in the advisory.
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Isolation should be followed for 5–7 days from onset of any symptom to prevent the spread of infection to other children or adults. “The virus is not at all related to SARS-CoV-2, monkeypox, dengue and/or chikungunya. In fact, recent reports have suggested it to be Coxsackie A 17 that belongs to the group of enteroviruses.
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The disease will best be described as a clinical variant of the viral hand, foot, and mouth disease, a common infectious disease targeting mostly young children aged 1–10 years and immune compromised adults, and sometimes exposed immune competent adults. Tomato flu is a self-limiting illness and no specific drug exists to treat it,” the government said.
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