The high temperature affected young people and children more than the elderly, some doctors said. It could be triggered by the high viral load of infections, which are generating a strong immune response, leading to an elevated body temperature.
There has been an increase in the spread of influenza A, rhinovirus, dengue and H1N1 over the past fortnight.
Respiratory viruses other than Covid, which include influenza or flu-like illnesses such as parainfluenza and orthomixo virus, which are rarely tested, can trigger a bout of severe fever and cold. They are now triggering a high temperature in the 103 ° -105 ° range lasting two to three days. The paracetamol dosage had to be doubled to keep the fever under control, but most patients will recover within a week, “said Sauren Panja, intensivist at RTIICS .
He added that patients with high fevers suffer from acute weakness and muscle aches for an extra week. “Most of these patients are young people and children under 12,” Panja said.
“This time around the viral load could be very high, which is triggering a strong immune response and, therefore, an elevated body temperature. These are mostly seasonal viruses that strike regularly at this time of year. rest are the best medicines unless there is a bacterial infection, which has been rare. It affects people of all ages, “said internal medicine consultant Arindam Biswas.
In addition to viral infections, enteric typhus, typhus, malaria and spot typhus have spread widely in the community, said IPGMER professor Diptendra Sarkar. “All of these can trigger very high temperatures. Malaria, which is a parasitic ailment, causes high temperatures that can reach 104 degrees. Typhus is caused by a bacterium and can be fatal. It often leads to high temperatures. dengue is again spreading in Calcutta and, in many cases, has led to a very high and persistent fever, ”Sarkar said.
The cold sponge should be given within 30 minutes of the fever rising, experts said. “It is necessary, especially in the case of children,” said Biswas.
When a wave of Covid or a wave reaches its peak, the majority of viral infections are likely to be Covid, Sarkar pointed out. “As we have passed the peak and the rate of Covid infections has decreased, other viral infections have taken over. Since many have had mild Covid recently, they have become susceptible to other viral attacks,” he added.
AMRI Hospital internal medicine consultant Joydeep Ghosh said: “Viral fever can trigger a temperature of 102 ° -103 °. But we have not seen such high temperatures during the Covid period. All these patients should be tested. to rule out dengue and malaria, as both can cause high temperatures. ”
