The story so far: Days after a paper in The Lancet journal raised concerns over the rise in cases of the “new virus known as tomato flu” among children in India, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday issued an advisory, asking the States to take measures to prevent its spread.
In a set of guidelines, the Centre referred to the disease as a probable variant of the hand, foot and mouth Disease, or HFMD, which commonly occurs in children under 10 years of age and can also infect adults. As per the Lancet paper, India recorded around 100 cases of ‘tomato flu’ in children below nine years of age in less than three months. The transmission of the “highly contagious” yet “non-life threatening virus” could lead to serious consequences by spreading to adults as well, it adds.
