In the rainy season, the cases of chicken pox are largely on the rise.
New Delhi:
Rashes and fever, symptoms common to both chickenpox and chickenpox have caused confusion among people, although doctors have stressed that there is a difference in how the symptoms manifest of both viral diseases in patients.
They have also advised to consult a doctor to dispel any doubts.
Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans by animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in patients with smallpox in the past, although it is clinically less severe.
In the rainy season, people are more prone to viral infections and cases of chicken pox are largely seen during this time along with other infections that also show symptoms like rashes and nausea, said Dr Ramanjit Singh , visiting consultant, dermatology at Medanta Hospital.
“Because of this situation, some patients get confused and misinterpret chicken pox as chicken pox. The patient can determine whether or not he has chicken pox by understanding the sequence and onset of symptoms,” said Dr. Ramanjit Singh.
Explaining further, he said that monkeypox usually starts with fever, general malaise, headache, sometimes sore throat and cough and lymphadenopathy (swollen lymph nodes) and that all these symptoms appear four days before the skin lesions, rashes and other problems that start mainly in the hand and eyes and spread to the whole body.
Other experts agree and say that, apart from the skin damage, there are also other symptoms in the case of monkey pox, but it is always better to consult a doctor to clear any doubts.
In a couple of recently reported cases, two suspected varicella cases turned out to be varicella.
A suspected chickenpox case was admitted to Delhi’s Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital last week with fever and lesions, tested negative for infection but was diagnosed with chickenpox. Similarly, an Ethiopian national, who had gone to Bangalore, was tested for chicken pox after showing symptoms, but his report confirmed that he had chicken pox.
India has so far reported four cases of monkeypox: three from Kerala and one from Delhi. Dr Satish Koul, Director of Internal Medicine, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, said, “In chicken pox, the lesions are larger than chicken pox. In chicken pox, the lesions are seen on the palms and plants. In varicella the lesions are self-limiting after seven to eight days but not in varicella. The lesions are vesicular and itchy in varicella. In varicella the lesions they are broad vesicular and non-itchy.” Dr. Satish Koul also said that the duration of fever is longer in monkeypox and that this patient has enlarged lymph nodes.
Elaborating on the virus that causes chicken pox, Dr SCL Gupta, Medical Director, Batra Hospital said that chicken pox is a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus which is not that serious but also causes skin rashes. “This is the season of chicken pox. Normally, during the monsoon, there is this humidity, rise in temperature, water, dampness and wet clothes, all of which lead to the growth of the virus.
“Also, there is a religious aspect associated with the disease. People treat it as a ‘goddess’ and so these patients are not treated with any kind of medicine. They are kept in isolation and given time to heal -se,” he said.
Talking about monkeypox, Dr SCL Gupta explained that this virus requires an animal host but is self-limiting with sore throat, fever and normal virus signs.
“The main sign of this virus is rashes on the body that contain fluids inside. This leads to a viral infection that weakens the body’s resistance. But problems arise because of its complication. In case any bacterial infection gets and leads to blisters. causing further complications in the body. “Right now monkey pox is in its juvenile stage. We don’t have proper treatment. We are only following the method of isolation and treating the suspected patient according to his symptoms. If there is a throat infection, we use the generic medicines that we usually take. So this is a case of symptomatic treatment here,” he said.
Physicians have also received inquiries about whether a prior chickenpox infection makes a patient immune to varicella, and the answer is a resounding no.
Dr Rajinder Kumar Singal, senior director and head of the department of internal medicine at BLK Max Hospital in New Delhi, said both are caused by different viruses, the mode of transmission is different and previous infection does not guarantee any protection against the new But those who have received the smallpox vaccine are less likely to contract smallpox, he said.
“The smallpox vaccine was discontinued after the World Health Organization (WHO) said the disease had been completely eradicated around 1979-80. People born before 1980 who have had the smallpox vaccine pox are less likely to contract smallpox. Both smallpox and smallpox are caused by viruses from the same family,” added Dr. Rajinder Kumar Singhal.
Because of this similarity between smallpox and monkeypox, many countries have allowed the administration of “smallpox” vaccines, but in India it is still not allowed. “The virus is in its juvenile stage and doctors are still figuring it out,” added Dr SCL Gupta.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)