An ongoing outbreak of a contagious viral fever is in many cases leading to entire families falling sick, doctors said on Sunday.
Two persons said multiple members in their families contracted viral fever one after another.
Several doctors said their clinics are being flooded every day with patients suffering from fever, sore throat and runny nose.
“I have treated a family from Jadavpur. As many as 12 members of the family became sick with similar symptoms over a fortnight. The infection spread slowly among everyone in the family,” said Sauren Panja, a critical care and medicine specialist at the RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences.
Chandramouli Bhattacharya, an infectious disease specialist at Peerless Hospital, said the likelihood of the infection spreading among people coming in close contact with an infected person is high.
“The infection spreads through tiny droplets emanated while speaking, sneezing or coughing. So the possibility of it spreading to someone in the family is very high,” he said.
Bhattacharya had last week told The Telegraph that the city was in the grip of a viral outbreak.
On Sunday, he said a large number of people are still getting infected. He said he is advising tests only to those who are having severe symptoms or pre-existing medical conditions.
“This is an unidentified upper respiratory tract infection. Unidentified because in most cases we (doctors) are not suggesting any test unless there are reasons for concern,” he said.
The viral panel test that can identify the virus that is causing infection is costly, because of which doctors sparingly advise it. Many of the patients who have undergone the test have tested positive for influenza.
The typical symptoms of the current spate of viral infections include fever (up to 100 or 101 degrees), sore throat, body ache and runny nose. The infection is restricted to the upper respiratory tract.
A Kasba resident said he was down with fever and recovered by Tuesday. On Wednesday, his wife started running a temperature. “The fever had subsided but I am still feeling weak,” she said on Sunday.
A resident of Tollygunge said his wife was suffering from fever and he took her to a doctor on Thursday. On Friday, he came down with fever.
Prabhas Prasun Giri, a paediatrician at the Institute of Child Health, said children, too, are suffering in large numbers.
All doctors this newspaper spoke to said the elderly, children and those with comorbidities should stay away from people suffering from viral infections.