While the onslaught of dengue and other vector-borne diseases continues, the city is also facing viral fever and upper respiratory tract infections. Doctors attribute this to fluctuation in weather conditions, apart from increased allergen and pollen load.

Hospitals are seeing a number of patients, especially children, with lower and upper respiratory tract infections and viral fever. At least eight out of every 10 patients suffer from high fever, sore throat, running nose, cough, allergic bronchitis, asthma and middle ear infection. Not having taken adequate precautions, most of them have developed chronic obstructive pulmonary airway disease (COPD), say doctors.

The number of paediatric cases are on the rise. Doctors have been witnessing a surge in the number of fever cases among children in the last 15 days.

250 patients every day

While the Bowring and Lady Curzon Medical College Hospital has been seeing nearly 250 children with high-grade fever, cough and cold daily, Victoria Hospital is flooded with patients with symptoms of bronchial spasms and asthmatic attacks. While almost all of them have dengue-like illness, not all test positive for the vector-borne disease.

Chikkanarasa Reddy, professor of paediatrics at Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), said most of the children he is seeing in Bowring hospital are less than one year old. “They report high fever. It takes up to five days for the fever to settle down. Usually, paediatric fever cases are high during this time of the year, but the number has almost doubled this year,” he said.

At K.C. General Hospital, nearly 200 cases of viral fever and respiratory tract infections, more than half involving children, are being treated in the outpatient department daily.

Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Mohan Rajanna said every day over 10 new patients are being admitted. “While fever is secondary to respiratory infections in some, most are reporting only fever,” he said.

Possible cause

N. Karthik Nagesh, chairman of neonatology and chairman of Manipal Advanced Children’s Centre at Manipal Hospitals, said most children that he is seeing are suffering acute febrile illness. While they are also being screened for H1N1 symptoms, they are testing positive for Influenza A and not H1N1. “Influenza A virus that mutates into H1N1 is milder than the latter. Children are coming here with high fever, severe cough, cold and chest congestion. We suspect it is some kind of an unknown respiratory virus,” he said.

Advising parents not to delay in seeking medical advice, Dr. Nagesh said the sick child should be given plenty of fluids. “Parents should watch for warning symptoms, such as incessant cough, breathlessness, altered sensorium, and vomiting,” he said.

Mayuri Yeole, Senior Consultant Paediatrician at Apollo Hospital in Seshadripuram, has seen nearly 40 children with viral fever and dengue-like symptoms in September. “Compared to last year, this time such cases of atypical viral fever are higher,” she said adding that this is apart from dengue.