Mystery fever that kills children in India

At a time when India appears to be slowly reeling from a deadly second wave of the corona virus, deaths in Uttar Pradesh have made headlines about the “mysterious flu” spreading to the countryside in the country’s most populous state.

Doctors in some of the affected districts (Agra, Mathura, Mainpuri, Etta, Kasganj and Firozabad) believe that dengue, a virus transmitted by mosquitoes, may be the main cause of death.

They say many of the patients were taken to a hospital with a severe form of dengue with low levels of platelets (necessary for blood cells to clot).

“Patients in hospitals, especially children, die very quickly,” says Dr Neeta Kulsresta, the district’s top health official, who said 40 people, including 32 minors, died last week.

Dengue, transmitted by female mosquitoes, is primarily a tropical disease and has been prevalent in India for hundreds of years.

It spreads to more than 100 countries, but 70% of cases are in Asia.

Four viruses carry the disease, and children are five times more likely to die from a second dengue infection than adults.

Mosquito Aedes Egypt Breeding in and around homes in containers with fresh water.

Dr. Scott Holstead, one of the world’s leading experts on mosquito-borne viruses, says, “Humans provide breeding grounds and only they can prevent them.

Every year, nearly 100 million cases of dengue (with severe bleeding and organ damage) are reported worldwide.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “the combined impact of Govt-19 and dengue epidemics could have devastating consequences for people at risk.”

However still It is not clear whether dengue is the only cause of the epidemic Flu-related deaths in Uttar Pradesh.

In a state of more than 200 million people and traditionally poor health, high malnutrition in children and irregular medical care, cases of “mysterious flu” continue to be reported every two years after the monsoon.

Japanese encephalitis, transmitted by mosquitoes, was first diagnosed in Uttar Pradesh in 1978 and has since claimed more than 6,500 lives.

The disease spreads primarily through districts bordering Nepal in the foothills of Gorakhpur and the Himalayas, all of which are low-lying and breeding grounds for mosquitoes that carry the virus.

The vaccination campaign, which began in 2013, has led to a drop in cases, But children continue to die

So far this year, seventeen children have died of Japanese encephalitis in Gorakhpur and 428 cases have been reported.

In 2014, scientists examined 250 children affected in Gorakhpur, amid rising deaths from encephalitis and myocarditis.

They found that 160 of them had antibodies against bacteria called bush flu.

Also known as scrub typhus, it is a bacterial infection that is spread by the bite of an infected virus.

These settle in the lush vegetation of the villages after the monsoon.

Scientists have found insects in firewood stored by villagers in their homes.

Scrub typhus is most often spread when children handle firewood at home or defecate outside in insect-infested bushes.

In a separate study, scientists found that between 2015 and 2019, scrub typhus and dengue were the main cause of post-monsoon flu outbreaks in six districts of eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Another life-threatening bacterial infection called leptospirosis, which spreads from animals to humans and is transmitted by mosquitoes to chikungunya, explained other flu-causing pathogens.

“So after the end of the monsoon there were many flu-related diseases in the region,” says V Ravi, a professor of virology at the National Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology (Nimhans) who led the second study.

“Proper monitoring is needed to diagnose and treat these diseases,” he added.

Earlier in 2006, scientists studied another “mysterious” outbreak of flu-related deaths among children in Uttar Pradesh.

This time it was discovered that they were children Cassia died after eating beans, It grew abundantly in the western part of the state.

The scientists concluded that the food poisoning was the result of “poverty, hunger, lack of parental supervision, ignorance, children playing alone, unavailability of toys and easy access to the plant”.

Only further research and genetic analysis will reveal whether the latest wave of “mystery fever” in India was triggered only by dengue or by several diseases.

It will train local clinics and hospitals in collecting samples from flu victims and sending them to laboratories for genetic testing.

Furthermore, there is no clear record of how these fevers started and progressed; And the severity of the condition was determined by the long and arduous journeys that people had to go to government hospitals for treatment.

Or if the affected children are suffering from other conditions such as tuberculosis.

If dengue is the only cause of mysterious deaths, it indicates that the government’s mosquito eradication programs are largely ineffective.

Transmission Intensity, Dr. According to Holstead, it can only be determined by antibody tests called the Adult Serological Survey.

“If we don’t investigate properly and systematically, many things will remain a mystery,” says the Indian virologist who wants to remain anonymous.

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