Nagpur: Recurring fever in school kids raises swine flu concerns

Nagpur: Schools are witnessing a trend of some students falling sick for the second time within a month, sparking concerns over flu infections taking hold. While teachers shared this experience, the media agency also spoke to three parents whose kids suffered from repeat infections.

One such parent, whose 10-year-old son recently recovered from a bout of fever, said, “At the start of July, my son had cough and fever, which lasted for three days. Antibiotics were given by our paediatrician then. Again in the last week of July he got high fever, but no cold and cough. We had to give antibiotics again.”

Two other parents cited similar experiences, though both their kids had a bit of cough in the second bout of infection.

Dr Satish Deopujari, one of the senior most and renowned paediatricians, said medical practitioners too have noticed this. “But this is something new, because infections come in such clusters. What happens is that once a child is infected, the immunity level goes down and he or she is vulnerable to a second bout within that 10-15 days period,” said Dr Deopujari. “I would advise parents not to worry as in India, the severity of such infections is on the lower side,” he added.

What’s worrying parents and teachers is whether the re-infections are a sign of swine flu. Dr Deopujari said, “These infections are all part of the same group, so it’s very difficult to say.”

Dr Rajiv Mohta, a paediatrician who is also witnessing re-infections among his patients, said, “Influenza is the scientific word for what we all generally refer to as flu. And swine flu is a type of influenza. Now whether a patient has swine flu or not can be ascertained only after test.”

He said vaccination is a must for both kids and adults. “Every year, a new strain of swine flu comes and vaccines get updated accordingly. Hence, it’s very important that vaccination by both the kid and parents are completed so that there is no cross-infection between family members. Vaccines provide a reasonable level of protection from swine flu,” said Dr Mohta.