August 29, 2022:-The emergence of an irregular, recent viral infection that affects young children has produced health authorities in India to issue a health advisory after over 100 cases were discovered in the country. Tomato flu has been detected in 82 children under five in Kerala, where the first case was seen on May 6.

An additional 26 cases have since been said in neighboring Tamil Nadu state and Odisha in the east, where children aged almost nine have been victims fro tomato flu.

India’s health ministry has added that the virus is non-life-threatening but issued testing and prevention guidelines to all states this week, which urges parents to be extra vigilant in checking their children for symptoms, the Times of India reported.

Tomato flu is a contagious viral infection that spreads through close contact, particularly among young children under five.

Symptoms include fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, dehydration, swelling of joints, body aches, common influenza-like symptoms, and the eponymous tomato-like blisters.

Scientists try to identify the root cause of the virus. However, they say “it is not related to SARS-CoV-2,” despite displaying some similar symptoms, according to an article published in the British journal The Lancet.

More probable is that the virus is an after-effect of chikungunya or dengue fever, two viral diseases transmitted by mosquitos.

Alternatively, it could be a unique variant of the viral hand, foot, and mouth disease, a common infectious disease targeting mostly children aged one to five years and immunocompromised adults.