Spike in fever cases: Dengue, malaria, swine flu take over from Covid-19

Some cities like Delhi and Mumbai are also witnessing cases of leptospirosis and gastroenteritis fevers

After battling with Covid-19 fever for the last two years, most Indian cities are now reeling under a bout of fever cases caused by dengue, malaria, swine flu among others.

"Of all respiratory illnesses that we are seeing in patients now, about 20 per cent are non-Covid19 viral infections," said Dr Khusrav Bajan, Consultant Physician & Intensivist, Department of Medicine and Critical Care, PD Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai.

As such the city has seen a 2-3 fold jump in swine flu cases in the last one month, doctors estimate.

Bajan says that of the hospitalised cases with fever now, roughly 20 per cent are non-Covid-19 viral infections, around 5-10 per cent cases are of typhoid, another 5-10 per cent cases are of malaria, while dengue fever cases account for nearly 20-30 per cent of hospital admissions (with fever).

Doctors say that bouts of dengue and malaria – vector borne diseases – are expected after monsoons. However, this season, swine flu cases have hit the country sooner than expected, and there seems to be a steady and sharp rise. In August alone Mumbai reported close to 200 swine flu cases, and hospitals estimate that number has at least doubled in September.

Tamil Nadu has reported a spike in the number of cases with as many as 5,000 people getting admitted to hospitals due to high fever. Though the state Health Minister Ma Subramanian called it ‘seasonal’, he also instructed parents to not send kids having fever to schools.

The rise in H1N1 cases is also a concern for the state as more than 1,000 cases were reported from January till now.  The rise in fever cases are being reported at a time when Covid cases are also being reported on a daily basis.

On Thursday, around 522 cases were reported in the state. Subramaniam added that around 5,000 cases of admissions for fever used to be normal pre-Covid and there was a dip in cases during the last two years as people followed strict Covid protocols.

“For the last two years, common infections were not there, and children had developed an 'immune debt'. That is, low relative immune protection against common infections. So, the same child gets multiple infections over a period. It will take another few months, till they develop relative immunity,” said J Rajkumar, Consultant - Paediatric Infectious Diseases, Gleneagles Global Health City in Chennai.

Monalisa Sahu, Consultant Infectious Diseases, Yashoda Hospitals Hyderabad said that they have seen a two to two and half times rise in fever cases in the last few weeks, and vulnerable patients are landing up in the ICUs.

Sahu said that these cases were not being reported much during the last two years of the pandemic, and thus this year we can see a sharp rise. “People were wearing masks or following hand-hygiene for Covid19, so that helped ward off other infections too. So, this year there is a sharp spike in fever cases, and it seems to be more than the pre-Covid19 levels,” she added.

“Compared to the same time last year, we are seeing a 50 per cent spike in the number of cases in Tamil Nadu. We are seeing a higher rate of respiratory infections among kids below the age of 5 years and elderly people above 65 years. Among children, respiratory infections are on a rise too,” said Sivaraj P, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine and Allied Sciences, MGM Healthcare in Chennai. 

Manoj Sharma, Senior Consultant Internal Medicine, Fortis Hospital Vasant Kunj pointed out that during Covid19, the focus was on detecting and treating the disease. “Even during Covid19, 10-15 per cent cases had additional viral infections along with Covid19. But those were reported as Covid19 cases,” he explained

Apart from dengue, malaria and swine flu, some cities like Delhi, Mumbai are also witnessing cases of leptospirosis and gastroenteritis fevers.

Sting takes a toll

• In August alone, Mumbai reported close to 200 swine flu cases
• Tamil Nadu reported 5,000 people getting admitted to hospitals due to high fever
• Apart from dengue, malaria and swine flu, Delhi & Mumbai are seeing cases of leptospirosis and gastroenteritis fevers