PUNE: Three-year-old
Amol was running fever, which was followed by a rash. His symptoms, very classical of an acute viral illness, also included a running nose, cough and watery eyes.
A few days into the illness, his parents noticed that Amol was breathing fast and with difficulty. They immediately took him to a hospital where he was diagnosed with pneumonia, a common complication of measles.
Amol’s is not the only case,
doctors in the city are observing quite a few cases of
post-measles pneumonia where children suffer complications following the contagious viral infection.
“Many times, we get away by treating measles infection with a good dose of vitamin A, followed by medications to manage fever and other symptoms. However, children with measles infection tend to develop life-threatening complications that may be tricky to manage. Paediatricians have been seeing quite a few cases of post-measles pneumonia in Pune city since February,” senior paediatrician Sanjay Lalwani, who is also the president of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics, Pune branch, told TOI.
Besides pneumonia, other complications of measles include diarrhoea, acute ear infection, laryngo-tracheo-bronchitis, tracheitis and bronchiolitis (airway inflammation), febrile convulsions and meningoencephalitis (brain inflammation).
Not to forget that the measles infection leaves the child in an immune-compromised state/ making him/her susceptible to multiple super-added infections. “At Bharati hospital, we have had three such cases in the last two months where children with measles infection have developed pneumonia requiring multiple interventions and a prolonged hospital stay,” paediatrician Bhakti Sarangi of Bharati hospital said.
Sarangi said, “Pneumonia in measles may occur either directly due to the virus or due to a superimposed bacterial infection, which makes it fulminant and hard to treat. Early intervention including recognition, vitamin A supplementation and contact isolation may go a long way in avoiding the complications of measles infection.”
Neonatologist Sachin Shah said, “The complications in measles occur more frequently in malnourished infants or infants staying in overcrowded and poorly ventilated areas. This can easily be prevented by proper nutrition, proper vaccination and avoiding overcrowded places.”
Shah treated a child with severe pneumonia following measles infection at Surya Mother and Child Superspeciality hospital last month.
Representative image
