Unseasonal outbreak of chicken pox lays Kolkata low, takes doctors by surprise
Times of India | 28 July 2024
Representative Image KOLKATA: An unseasonal outbreak of chicken pox has taken hospitals and physicians by surprise in the middle of an influenza epidemic now sweeping through Kolkata. Even though the varicella zoster virus, that triggers chicken pox, usually gets activated during Feb-March, coinciding with the onset of summer, this year it has struck late. At least three private hospitals have received around a dozen cases each, while scores of others have been infected and sought online consultations, say physicians.
Chicken pox is triggered by the virus varicella zoster which also causes herpes. The symptoms are easily recognizable - fever with skin rashes and blisters all over the body, particularly chest, back and the face. It is a highly contagious air-borne disease that spreads with sneeze and cough of an infected person.
Manipal Hospital in Dhakuria has seen around a dozen patients, including one who had a severe disease and is now admitted. Four of his family members are also affected. "The patient had a slight breathing distress other than the usual chicken pox symptoms. The elderly are at risk of contracting varicella pneumonia or chicken pox-triggered pneumonia in some cases. So, we are prescribing a specific anti-viral to counter the disease," said Manipal infectious diseases physician Sayan Chakrabarti.
Several staff members of Manipal, too, are down with chicken pox.
Charnock Hospital has received at least 10 chicken pox patients in the last one week. "It is a bit of a surprise since this is not chicken pox season and we already have hundreds suffering from various forms of influenza, including swine flu. The number of patients point at an outbreak and many of my patients have family members who have been infected and are now quarantined. Usually, the virus gets activated with a sharp rise in temperature and not when the mercury is fluctuating in monsoon. With climatic variations, the virus, too, may have changed its character," said Subhayan Bhattacharya, tropical medicine physician at Charnock.
BP Poddar Hospital has been receiving patients sporadically. "Two have so far sought video consultation this week," said a hospital representative.
In recent years, a repeat attack of chicken pox has also been detected in many patients. Often, the virus remains dormant in the body after a bout of chicken pox and causes herpes once it gets reactivated. Usually, those with a lower immunity are more susceptible to a second attack of chicken pox, said Chakrabarti. But the number of those suffering a repeat bout has been on the rise, he said.
Vaccines are still the most effective way of combating the disease, he felt. "In a vast majority of the cases, vaccines work. They help develop antibodies and prevent an attack. But I suspect that cold chain of vaccines is not always being maintained properly. This is turning them impotent," said RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences intensivist Sauren Panja.
Along with pox, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, too, have struck kids. "In most cases, it is turning out to be hand-foot-and-mouth disease and not chicken pox. Though some have been affected. Both are self-limiting, especially hand-foot-and-mouth," said paediatrician Shantanu Ray.