‘Tomato flu’ a new epidemic in India: Virology, epidemiology, and clinical features
This article aims to highlight the current update on the ‘tomato flu’ outbreak in India. Recently there was an outbreak of a new illness in some parts of India. The disease was very contagious and it manifested with a rash mainly noticed in children younger than nine years. The rash was very painful...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | New Microbes and New Infections |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2052297522001226 |
| _version_ | 1811166423428366336 |
|---|---|
| author | Asra Ismail Aminath Saahath Yasra Ismail Ma'ani Fathulla Ismail Ziuna Zubair Kannan Subbaram |
| author_facet | Asra Ismail Aminath Saahath Yasra Ismail Ma'ani Fathulla Ismail Ziuna Zubair Kannan Subbaram |
| author_sort | Asra Ismail |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article aims to highlight the current update on the ‘tomato flu’ outbreak in India. Recently there was an outbreak of a new illness in some parts of India. The disease was very contagious and it manifested with a rash mainly noticed in children younger than nine years. The rash was very painful and blisters were the size of small tomatoes, hence it was termed ‘tomato flu’. A detailed literature review was performed on the virology, replication, epidemiology, and clinical features of this disease. The current outbreak was compared with similar other diseases of the past. The affected children exhibited severe rash in the palms, soles, oral cavity, and other body parts. They developed febrile illness with a sore throat, and myalgia followed by blisters on the tongue, gums, and cheeks. The affected children did not develop any complications leading to death. The therapy involved mainly symptomatic, supportive treatment with isolation and maintaining hygienic practices. The causative agent was identified to be Coxsackievirus A16, an RNA virus belonging to the family, Picornaviridae. We conclude that the recent Indian epidemic of this disease might be due to a new variant of Coxsackievirus A16 actually causing HFMD. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:52:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c40d46ee6ff942d693cad7077931cedd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2052-2975 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T15:52:07Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | New Microbes and New Infections |
| spelling | doaj.art-c40d46ee6ff942d693cad7077931cedd2023-02-11T04:15:28ZengElsevierNew Microbes and New Infections2052-29752023-01-0151101070‘Tomato flu’ a new epidemic in India: Virology, epidemiology, and clinical featuresAsra Ismail0Aminath Saahath1Yasra Ismail2Ma'ani Fathulla Ismail3Ziuna Zubair4Kannan Subbaram5School of Medicine, The Maldives National University, Male’, MaldivesSchool of Medicine, The Maldives National University, Male’, MaldivesSchool of Medicine, The Maldives National University, Male’, MaldivesSchool of Medicine, The Maldives National University, Male’, MaldivesSchool of Medicine, The Maldives National University, Male’, MaldivesCorresponding author. School of Medicine, The Maldives National University, Male’, Maldives.; School of Medicine, The Maldives National University, Male’, MaldivesThis article aims to highlight the current update on the ‘tomato flu’ outbreak in India. Recently there was an outbreak of a new illness in some parts of India. The disease was very contagious and it manifested with a rash mainly noticed in children younger than nine years. The rash was very painful and blisters were the size of small tomatoes, hence it was termed ‘tomato flu’. A detailed literature review was performed on the virology, replication, epidemiology, and clinical features of this disease. The current outbreak was compared with similar other diseases of the past. The affected children exhibited severe rash in the palms, soles, oral cavity, and other body parts. They developed febrile illness with a sore throat, and myalgia followed by blisters on the tongue, gums, and cheeks. The affected children did not develop any complications leading to death. The therapy involved mainly symptomatic, supportive treatment with isolation and maintaining hygienic practices. The causative agent was identified to be Coxsackievirus A16, an RNA virus belonging to the family, Picornaviridae. We conclude that the recent Indian epidemic of this disease might be due to a new variant of Coxsackievirus A16 actually causing HFMD.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2052297522001226BlistersClinical featuresCoxsackievirus A16Hand foot and mouth diseaseRash‘Tomato flu’ |
| spellingShingle | Asra Ismail Aminath Saahath Yasra Ismail Ma'ani Fathulla Ismail Ziuna Zubair Kannan Subbaram ‘Tomato flu’ a new epidemic in India: Virology, epidemiology, and clinical features New Microbes and New Infections Blisters Clinical features Coxsackievirus A16 Hand foot and mouth disease Rash ‘Tomato flu’ |
| title | ‘Tomato flu’ a new epidemic in India: Virology, epidemiology, and clinical features |
| title_full | ‘Tomato flu’ a new epidemic in India: Virology, epidemiology, and clinical features |
| title_fullStr | ‘Tomato flu’ a new epidemic in India: Virology, epidemiology, and clinical features |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Tomato flu’ a new epidemic in India: Virology, epidemiology, and clinical features |
| title_short | ‘Tomato flu’ a new epidemic in India: Virology, epidemiology, and clinical features |
| title_sort | tomato flu a new epidemic in india virology epidemiology and clinical features |
| topic | Blisters Clinical features Coxsackievirus A16 Hand foot and mouth disease Rash ‘Tomato flu’ |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2052297522001226 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT asraismail tomatofluanewepidemicinindiavirologyepidemiologyandclinicalfeatures AT aminathsaahath tomatofluanewepidemicinindiavirologyepidemiologyandclinicalfeatures AT yasraismail tomatofluanewepidemicinindiavirologyepidemiologyandclinicalfeatures AT maanifathullaismail tomatofluanewepidemicinindiavirologyepidemiologyandclinicalfeatures AT ziunazubair tomatofluanewepidemicinindiavirologyepidemiologyandclinicalfeatures AT kannansubbaram tomatofluanewepidemicinindiavirologyepidemiologyandclinicalfeatures |