Weather fluctuations cause viral infections

Mumbai: The city is in the grip of different types of fever. City hospitals in particular are seeing a number of patients with lower and upper respiratory tract infections, viral fever and viral arthritis. Doctors attribute this to fluctuations in weather and increased allergen and pollen load.

At least six out of every 10 patients suffer from sore throat, fever, runny nose, cough, allergic bronchitis, asthma and middle ear infection. Currently, there are 50 cases of upper respiratory tract infection and 15 cases of fever daily. Doctors said these figures could rise if subsequently care is not taken. The dean of KEM Hospital and director of major civic-run hospitals Dr Avinash Supe said, “The number of virus particles increases whenever there is a fluctuation in temperature. Also, there is higher particulate matter in the air, which increases the chances of upper respiratory infections.”

The drop in temperature coupled with rise in pollution leads to increased cough and breathlessness. ENT specialist Dr Ashesh Bhumkar told The Asian Age, “Dryness in the weather is affecting vital organs, since there are various viruses present in the air.  The patient must be careful as they can spread through the air when a patient coughs or sneezes in the vicinity of others.”   

Mercury drops

• The minimum temperature recorded in the city on Friday was 15.8 degrees Celsius. It was the lowest recorded minimum temperature for this season, according to the India Meteorological Department.
• The air quality index (AQI) ranged from moderate to poor in the day. The AQI in the city clocked 287 in Bandra Kurla Complex, 202 in Andheri, 214 in Mazgaon and a whopping 275 in Navi Mumbai, according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), Mumbai.