June 3: Covid-19 or Post Covid has been a struggling task for everyone, and the rise of some mysterious diseases like monkeypox, hepatitis and tomato flu, is a serious threat to the lives of our children. Children have only stepped out of the house, and these diseases are a real danger to their lives. Some experts say that Covid-19 can be a cause of these diseases, and controlling Covid-19 might be a good control for these diseases.
Mysterious Hepatitis: WHO and US officials have sent a nationwide alert to be on the lookout for symptoms of Hepatitis in children possibly linked with Covid-19 or cold virus. The cases are still low, but they are in the children. Hepatitis or liver inflammation is relatively uncommon in youngsters. However, over 100 cases of acute hepatitis in apparently healthy youngsters have been documented in 25 states and territories in recent months. In addition, at least another 100 cases have been reported in 19 additional countries. According to CDC, while most children recover entirely from hepatitis, 14% of cases in the US required a liver transplant, and five children died. WHO said that the prime suspect was an adenovirus with a Covid-19 infection.
“We observed a peculiar rise in hepatitis cases. Usually, the beginning of the monsoon marks a rise in hepatitis cases. Last year (2021), we started to see this in April or summer in covid positive children who were part of the follow-up. Most of them in the face had recovered from their covid,” said Sumit Ramat, Associate Professor, Microbiology, the Bundelkhand Medical College, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Tomato Flu or Tomato Fever: Tomato flu recurs in Kerala after a surge of Covid-19 cases. The specific cause of tomato flu, unique to Kerala, is unknown. Apart from the rash, most symptoms-high fever, body aches, joint pain, and nausea are almost identical to those of dengue and chikungunya. During the disease’s 2007 outbreak, there was speculation that it resulted from the two. “It’s not a life-threatening condition, but it is communicable and can move from person to person,” explains Dr. Subhash Chandra, assistant professor of internal medicine at Amrita Hospital in Kochi. “The true modalities of infection dissemination are currently under investigation.” Tomato flu isn’t lethal, but it also doesn’t have a treatment.
Many Indian states like Kerala and Madhya Pradesh report cases of tomato flu and hepatitis in children, raising the idea of “severity”.
Monkeypox: Health experts are increasingly concerned about the origins of a new outbreak in early May in the nation outside of Central and West Africa. Since May 13, at least 257 cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in 23 countries where the virus is not endemic- mostly in Europe and North America- and 120 are suspected. Of those infections, 14 are confirmed or suspected across 8 states in the United States. Health officials, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States and the Health Security Agency in the United Kingdom, claimed that children are susceptible to these diseases putting the country’s future in danger.
We need to realize the severity of these mysterious diseases. The cause of these diseases can be Covid-19, so government should not follow the UK or US protocols regarding Covid-19. Preventive measures must be implemented to protect our children as well as ourselves.
Vaishnavi Prakash
