Tomato Flu: UAE doctors weigh in on contagious virus affecting children in India

Tomato Flu: UAE doctors weigh in on contagious virus affecting children in India

A new and viral infection which affects young children has emerged in India, prompting health authorities to issue a health advisory as Tomato Flu cases passed 100 last week.

Al Arabiya English spoke to doctors in the United Arab Emirates to weigh in on how serious the virus is and who is most at risk.

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“Tomato fever or tomato flu is a disease mainly endemic to Kerala, India. The outbreak was identified in Kollam, Kerala, on May 6, 2022. However, recent reports suggest that it has spread to other states like Odisha and Tamil Nadu [in India],” said Dr. Deepak Gandhi, Specialist Pediatrician at Dubai’s Medeor Hospital.

In a study published in the Lancet Respiratory Journal last week, doctors said that the flu was first identified in India’s Kollam district of Kerala on May 6 and that as of July 26, over 82 children under the age of five were infected with the Tomato Flu, according to local government hospital data.

The endemic viral illness then triggered an alert in the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Following this, an additional 26 children between the ages of one and nine