Adenovirus: New Virus Outbreak In Kolkota

Mar 04, 2023, 17:14 IST

Adenovirus - a virus outbreak is said to be causing fear among parents in the State of West Bengal as the new virus is threatening children’s lives leading to deaths. There seems to be some confusion in the reason behind the death of children while some attribute it to acute respiratory infections which are on the rise in the State. However state-run hospitals are not attributing the deaths to be due to adenovirus.

“The death of every child is unfortunate. Underweight and premature babies with comorbidities are mostly at risk. There is nothing to fear. We have readied around 5,000 beds and 600 doctors,” West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday after an emergency meeting. Several doctors have said they have seen a 50% jump in such cases this year when compared to during the COVID outbreak.

Symptoms

It starts with a low fever and then the body temperature escalates to 102-103 degree celsius.

Kids are also complaining of throat infections and then either stomach ache or diarrhea.

Some kids are also suffering from respiratory discomfort, reports in ET State

If there is any comorbidity, then severity intensifies in cases of either viral or bacterial infections.

In cases where kids have cardiac problems, then an adenovirus attack on them leads to secondary bacterial pneumonia, which can be life-threatening.

It can affect children between the age of eight months to 13-14 years.

Adenoviruses most often infect the airways leading to cold-like symptoms, including sore throat, sneezing, runny nose, cough, headache, chills, or symptoms of croup or bronchitis. Some people might also get a fever. The illness usually lasts three to five days, but serious infections can last for weeks.

Treatment: There are no approved antiviral medicines and no specific treatment for people with adenovirus infection. There are no FDA-approved antiviral drugs for adenovirus treatment. (Inputs from ET and Google)

The West Bengal State health department has also issued an advisory and help lines amid the spike in acute respiratory infection cases in children.

The Government of West Bengal requests everyone to be cautious in the current situation. Important service providing nos provided here may be kept readily available:

Integrated Helpline no - 1800-313-444-222
Additional no to avail government ambulances - (033) 4090-2929 (1/4) pic.twitter.com/2KPFSKsFDl

— Department of Health & Family Welfare, West Bengal (@wbdhfw) April 23, 2021