9 Mar 2023 | 4 min Read
Manisha Pradhan
Author | 1053 Articles
Every second person across India is down with fever, cough, sore throat, and breathlessness. The adenovirus has been causing viral infections and doctors are seeing an increase in the number of cases across India. Besides the elderly and people with chronic illnesses, such as asthma, school-going children are at the most risk of diseases caused by adenovirus, according to the doctors.
BabyChakra spoke to Pediatric Pulmonologist Dr Indu Khosla about the same and this is what she had to say.
Adenovirus is a virus that can cause a range of illnesses, including respiratory infections, conjunctivitis, and gastroenteritis. In most cases in kids, it causes respiratory infections. We are seeing a surge of Adenovirus infections as well as other viral infections in kids recently, this is because of the post-COVID phenomenon.
During COVID most kids were indoors and they are going through what is called an immune death, the cold winter season that just went by and the rise in pollution has only added to the seriousness of these respiratory illnesses as we are seeing.
Adenovirus can cause mild illness to severe illness, though severe illness is less common and it occurs in children who have lower immunity or have respiratory diseases, or if they have heart diseases.
The most common symptoms include:
Some children land up with more serious diseases caused by the virus such as:
Dr Khosla adds that with this virus sadly this season doctors have seen many children coming down with the severity of the infection.
It spreads through close contact such as:
There is no known antiviral treatment for this virus. But paracetamol is given for fever and keeping the child well hydrated and ensuring they get adequate rest is important.
Dr Khosla says that adenovirus can be prevented by taking a few measures like:
She adds that the Adenovirus infections were always there but were not detected so easily because the testing for this infection was not freely available or even if they were, they were very expensive. But now she says since this viral infection has increased, the tests have been made freely available.
Doctors also recommend giving kids the influenza vaccine annually. It is also recommended to pay attention to even a slight respiratory problem in kids during the current situation and consult a pulmonologist or a physician to avoid the condition from worsening.
Check out these natural hygiene products for kids.
Also Read:
Adenovirus Symptoms In Kids: How Can You Prevent It?
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Suggestions offered by doctors on BabyChakra are of advisory nature i.e., for educational and informational purposes only. Content posted on, created for, or compiled by BabyChakra is not intended or designed to replace your doctor's independent judgment about any symptom, condition, or the appropriateness or risks of a procedure or treatment for a given person.