Symptoms are similar to monkeypox. A virus, dubbed “tomato flu”, has been detected in India, where more than 80 cases have been recorded since May 6. This viral disease gets its name from the very itchy, red, round blisters that appear on the hands, feet, and mouth of an infected person. Extremely painful, this rash can be confused with that caused by Monkeypox, of which 17 proven cases have been reported according to Public Health France as of May 30 (13 in le-de-France, 1 in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 2 in Occitanie and 1 in Normandy).
Endemic to Kerala, a populous state on the tropical coast of Malabar, “tomato fever” has no definite cause. At least, for now, the report India Today. “It is not a fatal disease, but it is contagious and can spread from person to person, although the exact mode of transmission is still being investigated.”, said Dr. Subhash Chandra, assistant professor of internal medicine at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi. Every infected individual must be isolated. Equipment, clothing and other objects used by patients should be disinfected.
Contacted by TF1info, several virologists claimed not to know about this infection. Professor Antoine Flahault, director of the Global Health Institute in Geneva (Switzerland), confirms that it is a disease endemic to the Indian state of Kerala, which, to his knowledge, has not left the Indian subcontinent.
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