The tomato flu, a new one that has been detected in India, has captured all the attention of epidemiologists. Since it appeared last May in the state of Kerala (and after spreading to other areas of the country), more than 80 cases have been recorded. All of them, in children under five years of age.
As published in the British Medical Journal, “The viral infection is in an endemic state and is considered not to be life-threatening; however, due to the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic, vigilant management is desirable to avoid further outbreaks.”
Although the symptoms of tomato flu are very similar to those of COVID-19, the virus is not made with SARS-CoV-2. But what is the origin of this new disease?
On the one hand, the expert authors of the research published in The Lancetbelieve that “it could be a side effect of the fever or dengue in children instead of a viral infection.”
This is a virus that was originally limited to Africa and caused disease in primates, not humans. However, 70 years after its discovery, there have been cases on every inhabited continent. In America alone, more than a million infected since 2015. And also in Europe.
In the old continent, the first outbreak occurred in 2007. It is believed that a single infected person, who had been in India, gave rise to an outbreak in Italy. More than 200 people became infected in an area with a high presence of the tiger mosquito that transmitted the infection. And a deceased.
“It’s not a flu”
And it’s not the only one. In 2017, another outbreak affected Italy with more than 500 people infected. It is highly probable that in the coming years the virus will end up establishing itself on the continent, given that its vector, the tiger mosquito, is an increasingly widespread distribution, an invasive species that was first sighted in Barcelona in 2004.
On the other hand, “it could also be a new variant of viral hand-foot-and-mouth disease, a common infectious disease that mainly affects children 1 to 5 years of age and immunocompromised adults.” It is the main theory of the doctor Antoni TrillaHead of Preventive Medicine at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona.
As the specialist explains, the tomato flu “is not a flu” and “has nothing to do with tomatoes.” This infection has received this name because its most characteristic symptom is reddish blisters that could reach the size of a tomato.
But although it has been named like that, this fruit (of great culinary importance) does not cause this disease. Trilla points out that it is “a form of presentation of the mouth-hand-foot disease, produced by the Coxsackie virus.”
News about an alleged “tomato flu”:
• it’s not a flu
• nothing to do with tomatoes
• It is a form of presentation of the mouth-hand-foot disease, produced by Coxsackie virus.
• occurs in children < 10 years
• is benign
• there are no cases in 🇪🇸
— Antoni Trilla (@ToniTrilla)
The epidemiologist points out that this viral infection occurs in children under 10 years of age and is “benign”. So far, the professor at the University of Barcelona emphasizes, “there are no cases in Spain.”
Mouth-hand-foot disease, a childhood infection
It is a mild and contagious viral infection quite common among the smallest (between 1 and 3 years). Its main symptom is the appearance of blisters in the mouth, palms of the hands and feet, hence its name. And those responsible for these characteristic vesicles are enteroviruses.
This disease, typically infantile and mild, we insist, is easily transmitted through direct contact via fecal-oral (feces) and air (secretions from the nose, mouth, or droplets released when coughing).
Pediatricians from the (AEP) explain that “the virus remains in the feces, above all, or in the respiratory tract for several weeks after suffering from the disease.”
In addition, it can survive for a long time in objects handled and used by children, such as handkerchiefs, tables, sheets, towels… which makes transmission very easy.
What are the symptoms of tomato flu
In addition to the reddish blisters, the symptoms of tomato flu are:
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Rashes.
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High fever.
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Severe pain in the joints.
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Fatigue.
Tomato flu is a self-limited disease and for which there is no specific drug to treat it.