NEED ATTENTION: Children down with the infection at Fever hospital in Hyderabad on Friday. Photo: Satish.H.

HYDERABAD: The last few days have witnessed a sharp rise in the infectious diseases reported at city hospitals and a majority of them happen to be Chickenpox.

Authorities at the Sir Ronald Ross Institute for Tropical and Communicable Diseases put the prevalence as nearly 10 per cent more compared to earlier years. "However, there is nothing to panic as this is a regular seasonal disease," they hasten to add.

If January had the institute taking care of 63 cases of Chickenpox, February came with 70 more.

The upward trend has continued and in Friday itself, the city's premier hospital for infectious diseases had 30 children undergoing treatment for the disease. "The number of cases could go up to 100 in the coming days," says a doctor here.

Doctors describe the cases reported here as just being a small percentage of the actual prevalence as many could be visiting the local private medical practitioner while most prefer not to seek medical advice at all. "In the case of Chickenpox, families prefer to keep the child at home and follow the traditional practices and grandma's tips for cure," says the institute superintendent P.P.Prasad.

Chickenpox usually affects children while grown-ups who were not visited by the problem in childhood could also be affected.

"If the adults are afflicted, then it usually ends up as a protracted affair," informs Dr.Prasad. Since the disease goes around fast, doctors advise parents to avoid sending children to school if they observe symptoms of Chickenpox. The other basic steps as prescribed by Dr.Prasad include strict hygiene, both personal and linen, apart from isolating the child to prevent the disease from spreading.

"Parents should also trim the finger nails of the child who is down with Chickenpox. This is to ensure that child does not scratch his skin and end up with permanent scars," he says.

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