Patients suffering from viral infection have flooded hospitals in Ranchi that has seen heavy rains and temperature fluctuations in the last few days with most people displaying symptoms like fever, cough and cold and body ache, doctors from leading hospitals said on Tuesday.

As per records available the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), a majority of patients admitted in the medicine ward were suffering from viral infection. Besides, of the 261 patients admitted at Ranchi Sadar Hospital, over 100 were suffering from viral fever, doctors from the hospital said.

Ranchi civil surgeon Dr. Vinod Kumar admitted that hospitals were experiencing a sudden rush of patients suffering from viral fever. He said that the change in weather and a prolonged monsoon were contributing to the rise in such diseases.

“There has been a rise in cases of viral fever among children as well as adults. This, however, has no connection with Covid-19 and most patients are suffering from viral infections caused during monsoon,” said Dr. Kumar.

No patients suffering from dengue or malaria were undergoing treatment at Sadar Hospital on Tuesday, while four patients admitted for treatment of typhoid were discharged recently, doctors said.

The rise in cases of viral fever among children was a growing concern amid the fear of a possible third wave of Covid-19.

Dr. Abhishek Ranjan of the paediatric surgery department at RIMS said that the number of children suffering from influenza was much higher this year than earlier. The reason for this rise in cases of fever among children, he said, could be the fact that most children stayed indoors during the Covid-19 pandemic and did not get exposed to the outer world, which may have weakened their immune systems.

“Cases of fever among children have certainly increased this year when compared to the number of patients we had during monsoon in the past couple of years,” said Dr. Ranjan, adding that more than 100 children were undergoing treatment at the paediatric ward at RIMS on Tuesday.

The Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) and Community Healthcare Centres (CHCs), which are mostly located in rural areas of Ranchi, have also reported a spike in cases of viral fever. A multipurpose worker at Silli PHC said that there were no cases of malaria or dengue at the hospital, but patients of viral fever were visiting the healthcare facility every day.