Adenovirus outbreak in children with low immunity; know symptoms

Kolkata, February 21: Viral infections caused by Adenovirus has created panic in Kolkata. Infectious disease specialist Dr Sayan Chakraborty has said that children are at high risk due to their low immunity.

"Children are at high risk to Adenovirus because of low immunity. Adults have more immunity comparatively to children, thus there are more chances for the children to get infected by the virus," said Dr Sayan on Monday.

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Informing about the symptoms of the virus, Dr Sayan Chakraborty  said, "Some common symptoms include high fever, prolonged cough for approximately 2 weeks, red eyes, nausea, rashes, etc. It's difficult to identify the Adenovirus infection, thus normally doctors term it as respiratory infection".

Sayan said if parents witnessed any such symptoms mentioned above, they must take their children to the doctors and pediatricians for treatment, rather than trying medications at home.

"Follow the instructions of pediatricians and doctors to overcome the infection better. Do not panic," he said.

"Mostly the schoolchildren are getting infected by Adenovirus. Thus, if any children sustain these symptoms or infection, they should avoid going to school and use a surgical mask to prevent further transmission," added Sayan.

Talking about the tests for the virus, Sayan said, "There is no particular test to identify Adenovirus. No blood test is available. However, a swap test can be done but it's costly and quite unaffordable for all the clinics."

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Further, he also shared the number of patients admitted to his hospital. He said, "If we talk about children, out of 8 ICU beds, 6 are occupied by children sustaining Adenovirus infection. In the general ward, approx 16 patients are admitted with respiratory infections. While if we talk about the infections caused by both Adenovirus and other viruses, a total of approx 150 patients are admitted in the hospital including children and adults."

Highlighting the reasons for the spread of Adenovirus, Sayan said, "There are a lot of reasons for the spread of Adenovirus, including the arrival of strong variant and low immunity". (ANI)