India on high alert as over 100 kids catch Tomato Flu; govt issues advisory to states

With more than 82 children aged below five affected in the southern states, particularly Kerala, and another 26 in the eastern state of Odisha, India has now been put on high alert over 'Tomato Flu'.

The country's health ministry has issued guidelines to the states over testing and prevention in the wake of a surge of a new influenza virus, which is commonly referred to as 'Tomato Flu', with over 100 cases of infection reported among kids in the past few months, Bloomberg reported.

The Narendra Modi government issued the advisory earlier this week to the states on the Hand Foot and Mouth Disease, which is now called 'Tomato Flu'.

The ministry of health and family welfare said that the flu was first identified in Kollam district of Kerala on May 6 and as of July 26, more than 82 children below five were found to be infected, as has been reported by local government hospitals.

Also the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were alerted, Asian News International reported.

Besides, the Regional Medical Research Centre in Bhubaneswar, the capital of Odisha, also reported about 26 children, aged between one and nine years, having contracted the disease.

The health ministry has recommended five to seven days of isolation from the start of the symptoms to minimise the spread.

The name 'Tomato Flu' comes from the tomato-shaped blisters that appear across the patient's body. It affects young children and sees flare-ups in schools and daycare organisations, Bloomberg added.

While the highly infectious viral disease can cause fever, fatigue and body pain besides the blisters, the ministry said it is not related to Covid-19, monkeypox, dengue or chikungunya.