Govt issues advisory to states on Tomato Flu

The Centre on Tuesday issued an advisory to states on Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD), commonly known as Tomato Flu.According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Tomato Flu was first identified in the Kollam district of Kerala on May 6 and as of July 26, more than 82 children younger than 5 years with the infection have been reported by the local government hospitals. The other affected areas of Kerala are Anchal, Aryankavu, and Neduvathur.

This endemic viral illness triggered an alert to the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Additionally, 26 children (aged 1-9 years) have been reported as having the disease in Odisha by the Regional Medical Research Centre in Bhubaneswar. To date, apart from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Odisha, no other regions in India have reported the disease in their State/UT by the virus.

Tomato Flu is a viral disease. The name "Tomato Flu" comes from the main symptom of this disease, the tomato-shaped blisters on several body parts. The blisters start as red-colored small blisters and resemble tomatoes when they enlarge.

Primary symptoms observed in children with Tomato Flu are similar to those of other viral infections, which include fever, rashes and pain in joints. Rashes on skin can also lead to skin irritation. As with other viral infections, symptoms also include, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, dehydration, swelling of joints, body aches, and common influenza-like symptoms, the Union Health Ministry said.

The best solution for prevention is maintenance of proper hygiene and sanitization of the surrounding necessities and environment as well as preventing the infected child from sharing toys, clothes, food, or other items with other non-infected children. Isolation should be followed for 5-7 days from the onset of any symptom to prevent the spread of infection to other children or adults.