Over 58 people are hospitalized in Kerala and number of people have lost their lives due to food poisoning, this incident has created havoc in the state. It is said that this is a mysterious disease – called the “tomato flu” which is now grappling the state.
According to the local media reports, more than 80 children are affected by disease so far, while all the cases have been reported from Kollam. This disease is called “tomato fever”.
What is tomato flu?
This is a rare viral disease, which causes red-coloured rashes, skin irritation and dehydration. The blisters the disease causes look like tomatoes is the reason why it is called tomato fever.
The tomato fever is affecting children below the age of five in Kerala.
Symptoms of the disease
Affected children may develop blisters the size of tomatoes that are red in colour. Other symptoms, similar to chikungunya, include high fever, body aches, joint swelling, and fatigue.
Cases have also been reported in the southern state’s Aryankavu, Anchal, and Neduvathur.
Border surveillance on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border
A medical team is testing those entering Coimbatore for fever, rashes, and other illness – symptoms of such flu – at Walayar on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border as a precaution against the spread of tomato flu in one of the districts in neighbouring Kerala, according to news agency PTI.
The report further said, two medical officers are leading the team to check passengers, particularly children, of all vehicles. A 24-member team has also been formed to check the children aged below five, in anganwadis.
