The recent Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) outbreak in Kerala gained international traction when the reputed medical journal, The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, chose to publish a letter by Chavda et al on August 17 that “a new virus known as tomato flu, or tomato fever, has emerged in India in the State of Kerala”
The story was carried widely by every media, prompting the Union Health Ministry to issue a circular to the State’s Health department.
The incident is making headlines yet again, this time with another venerable medical journal, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reporting on September 13 that The Lancet has refused to publish a letter by doctors from Kerala, urging that the “unscientific article“ be retracted
