‘Not all fevers are COVID-19’

All fevers are not COVID-19 now as paediatricians have been seeing instances of dengue amongst youngsters in the previous few months. Parents ought to look out for different infectious ailments together with vector-borne and water-borne ailments, and search medical assist directly, they are saying.

Though the variety of youngsters affected by dengue was much less when in comparison with final yr, paediatricians stress on the necessity to take precautionary measures. Fever for 2 to a few days together with signs of lethargy, decreased exercise and vomiting shouldn’t be ignored.

A senior physician from Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, Egmore, stated there have been only a few instances of dengue now. “There were sporadic cases in August and September. We still see very few cases of dengue. This may be due to closure of schools as dengue is caused by day-biting mosquitoes. In case of fever, parents should not resort to over-the-counter drugs for children. They should rather seek medical help in the nearest health facility. Paediatricians have an eye for dengue. We conduct tests, including complete blood count, immediately, and admit children with suspected symptoms of dengue,” the physician stated.

Reiterating the necessity to keep cautious as soon as the fever begins to subside, the physician stated as a consequence of COVID-19, dad and mom introduced in youngsters earlier and this has led to early detection of dengue and prevention of issues.

J. Ganesh, professor and head of paediatrics, Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, stated normally instances of dengue had been reported in the course of the months of August-September-October. “This year, our hospital recorded few cases of dengue. The severity of the disease is less too. With the rains now, the usual precautions such as avoiding water stagnation and use of mosquito nets should be followed,” he stated.

Janani Sankar, senior guide, Kanchi Kamakoti CHILDS Trust Hospital, stated together with instances of COVID-19 in youngsters, they had been seeing dengue, scrub typhus infections and gastroenteritis. “Older children testing positive for COVID-19 have pneumonia like adults, while younger children have multisystem inflammatory syndrome,” she stated.