After witnessing a spell of dengue and other vector-borne diseases, the city is now under the grip of fever and upper respiratory tract infections. Doctors attribute this to fluctuations in weather and increased allergen and pollen load.
Hospitals are seeing a number of patients with lower and upper respiratory tract infection, viral fever and viral arthritis. At least six out of every 10 patients suffer from sore throat, fever, runny nose, cough, allergic bronchitis, asthma and middle ear infection. Not having taken adequate precautions, most of them develop Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Airway Disease (COPD), say doctors.
While the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital has been receiving nearly 70 cases of upper respiratory tract infection and around 15 cases of fever daily, Victoria Hospital is flooded with patients with symptoms of bronchial spasm and asthmatic attack. It is a similar scene at the K.C. General Hospital, with nearly 20 cases of viral fever and over 50 patients with respiratory tract infection treated in the outpatient department daily.
The hospital’s resident medical officer (RMO) Mohan Rajanna said none of the cases he had seen in the past fortnight required admission. “While fever is secondary to respiratory infection in some [cases], most are reporting only fever. However, no one required admission as they all arrived [in the early stages],” he said.
K.R. Ravindra, professor of medicine at Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, to which Victoria Hospital is attached, said as viral bronchitis and the resultant flu are contagious, more people are susceptible to these infections during this season.
Viral arthritis
Half the patients who have viral fever are complaining of severe pain and swelling in the joints with arthritis-like symptoms. Although the symptoms are similar to chikungunya, the infection is viral arthritis. “The disease is both vector-borne and air-borne. It can spread through mosquito bite and through the air (when a patient coughs or sneezes in the vicinity of others),” Dr. Ravindra said.
While most patients feel better within a week, in some the joint pain may persist for months. Viral arthritis is typically self-limiting and requires no specific intervention, although in rare cases the symptoms can linger, he said.
Advising people to take precautions and stay fit, the doctor said keeping warm and eating properly cooked food are key to remaining healthy. Stepping out early in the morning and late in the evening should be avoided. Children and the elderly should not be exposed to the cold weather, he added.
Spurt in conjunctivitis cases
The city is also reporting a high number of conjunctivitis cases — unusual for this time of year.
The infection, commonly known as “Madras eye”, causes redness in the eye, irritation and a degree of social ostracism. “Viral conjunctivitis usually starts in one eye and involves the other in a few days. This infection is associated with swelling and pain in the eyes and takes more than 10 days to subside. We have seen at least 15 cases a day in the past fortnight,” said K. Bhujang Shetty, chairman of Narayana Nethralaya.
Apart from pain and discomfort, patients feel a pricking sensation each time they blink. “It is as if sandpaper is rubbed in the eyes,” he said.
He advised people to seek immediate medical help if they experience any discomfort in their eyes, saying the only way to prevent infection is to maintain hygiene.
