A mix of viral infections is sweeping through the city. Doctors said their clinics are filled with people suffering from fever, runny nose, sore throat and cough.
An infectious disease specialist said he has seen a rise in such infections in the last seven to 10 days.
Patients are complaining that cough and sore throat have been persisting for more than a week despite an early relief from other symptoms such as fever and runny nose.
A large number of children, too, are suffering from similar symptoms, said peadiatricians.
A south Kolkata resident told The Telegraph that his wife had fever and sore throat last week. “The fever is gone but she is still very week and suffering from headache. She has been advised rest,” the patient’s husband said.
The changing weather and fluctuating temperatures — warm afternoons and cooler evenings and nights — are aiding the viral activity, a number of doctors told this newspaper.
“In the last seven days, there has been a rise in the number of patients with complaints of fever, cough and cold, and sore throat. Some of the patients are saying the cough is persisting for a longer duration than other symptoms. In some cases, there is high-grade fever that is staying for two or three days,” said Chandramouli Bhattacharya, an infectious disease specialist at Peerless Hospital.
Some of the patients are also suffering from conjunctivitis, along with other symptoms, Bhattacharya said.
“Apart from the patients who are suffering from severe symptoms, I am not suggesting the viral panel test, which can identify the virus causing the infection, to anyone,” he said.
“In at least one case, the test revealed adenovirus infection.”
The website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a US federal agency, says adenoviruses “cause mild cold- or flu-like illness” and they “can cause illness in people of all ages any time of year”.
Peadiatrician Apurba Ghosh said infections with similar symptoms are quite common among children, too.
“This has been going on for some time. The most common symptoms are fever and cough and cold. Some are also having red eyes (conjunctivitis). Stomach bug has also appeared as a common cause of infection,” Ghosh said.
Many doctors said such infections are common around this time of the year, aided by fluctuations in temperature as winter recedes and spring sets in.
Sayan Chakraborty, a infectious disease specialist at the AMRI Hospitals, Dhakuria, said half the patients turning up at his clinic are suffering from fever, sore throat and runny nose.
“Some elderly people need to be admitted to hospital,” he said.
“Multiple viruses are active now,” Chakraborty said. The tests revealed infections by influenza viruses, parainfluenza viruses, metapneumovirus and adenoviruses.
