Adenovirus, flu main cause of recent cough, cold, bronchitis surge: Doctors

Nagpur: Almost every family in the city had at least one member suffering from cough, cold, fever, conjunctivitis or bronchitis in February.

Though not causing serious complications, these illnesses are creating problems for sure. Unlike the general viral infections which take four to six days to recede, this time symptoms are continuing for weeks.

According to infectious disease specialists, this is due to the mix-up of new mutations of adenovirus and different types of influenza viruses that cause flu.

Infectious disease specialist Dr Nitin Shinde said that the current cough and cold pandemic is likely due to adenovirus. “The virus primarily affects young children and is transmitted to adults through close contact. Adenovirus is a common respiratory virus known to cause a range of symptoms, including transient conjunctivitis, pharyngitis, and persistent throat pain. The virus also typically causes a long-lasting fever, which can last for several days or even weeks,” Dr Shinde said.

The virus can also lead to significant post-viral fatigue syndrome, which can leave patients tired and lethargic for an extended period.

Senior infectious disease specialist Dr Ashwini Tayade said the flu virus is active these days. “Most of the samples that we tested had the influenza virus. This virus continues to mutate and different types of complications are found in children and adults. I think many viruses are active and the mix-up is causing different illnesses,” she said.

Paediatricians had already predicted a significant increase in cases of recurrent viral infections in kids during the current academic year because they were not exposed to many viruses during the two years of the pandemic. “Children are coming down with fever, cough, and cold twice or thrice in a single month because a range of viruses is currently circulating in the city,” said Dr Vijay Dhote, senior paediatrician.

“This will continue throughout the current academic year and won’t be serious. But children spreading these infections to adults is a more serious issue,” he added.

Doctors have advised senior citizens, people with weakened immune systems or existing respiratory or cardiac diseases to be more careful.

“Those who have a strong immunity shield may get away with the infection within a week. But the fatigue will last longer,” said Dr Shinde. He also made it clear that wearing masks won’t make any major impact on these viral diseases.