Experts see rashes, allergies in Covid surge

Bengaluru The increasing cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Bengaluru have also shown a higher number of people with relatively newer symptoms such as rashes, allergies, extreme fatigue and even eye infections, experts and medical practitioners said

Bengaluru

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The increasing cases of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in Bengaluru have also shown a higher number of people with relatively newer symptoms such as rashes, allergies, extreme fatigue and even eye infections, experts and medical practitioners said.

At least two medical practitioners and members of Karnataka’s technical advisory committee (TAC) on Covid-19 said that newer symptoms, which were not seen last year, were being reported among patients in the ongoing second wave in Karnataka and its capital, Bengaluru.

“There is more severity and symptoms are also a little different this time. People are coming with allergies, rashes, fever with rashes, conjunctivitis, eye infection among others,” said Dr CN Manjunath, director of the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research.

He added that although diarrhoea was one of the symptoms last year as well, it has become a strong indicator of the infection in the second wave. He also listed symptoms such as abdominal pain, even vomiting.

The symptoms may be on account of mutant strains of the virus, which may be also driving the surge in cases in the city, experts said -- though there isn’t enough genomic evidence to suggest that this is the case anywhere in India. Still, experts believe that much of the surge in Maharashtra is likely being caused by mutant versions of the virus. Bengaluru has seen an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases as people continue to move around freely without wearing masks, following social distancing or any other safety protocols.

Bengaluru has been averaging over 3,000 cases for the past week and reported nearly 5,000 new Covid-19 infections on Wednesday, indicating the rapid pace of the spread. Bengaluru’s case load is reaching the levels of Delhi and it is among the top 10 worst impacted cities in the country.

Experts said the second wave in Bengaluru could go on for another three more months before it starts to subside, if the experience in Europe and other countries is anything to go by.

The vaccination drive has helped reduce the severity of cases among the pool that have been inoculated, but challenges remain in the younger population that may have undiagnosed comorbidities, said experts. The senior population has remained largely indoors since the outbreak of Covid-19 last year, but the working age-groups, between 18 and 45, continue to be at risk, they added.

“A large number of elderly people with comorbidities have already got infected. Some of them died and many of them recovered. So, the susceptible pool in the community is now the younger age group. We know that the younger people withstand the virus better and mount a better response,” Dr V Ravi, former head of the neurovirology department at NIMHANS and member of Karnataka’s TAC on Covid-19, said.

He, however, added that the younger people were showing newer symptoms like extreme fatigue and diarrhoea.

“All mutations have not translated into different clinical phenotypes,” Ravi said, adding that there was absolute evidence of mutation only for UK, Brazilian and South African variants.

Karnataka has 29 persons with the UK strain and three with the South African strain, according to government data.

A March 2021 study by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru said that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was mutating at a faster rate in Bengaluru than in the rest of the country. The study found 27 mutations in three isolates of SARS-CoV-2 with over 11 mutations per sample, while the national average is 8.4 and the global average is 7.3.

A study by Hyderabad’s CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, has found around 7,684 mutations of SARS-CoV-2 in India.

The study has been published in the Journal of Proteome Research.

In Bengaluru, the severity of the cases has gone up and the same has been acknowledged by health authorities.

“Mortality among young, mid-age groups is a cause for concern,” K Sudhakar, Karnataka’s health, family welfare and medical education minister said on Tuesday.

Of the 4,719 Covid-19 related deaths reported in Bengaluru so far, over 800 were between the ages of 19 and 50, according to government data.

There is an average of 11-19% of those infected who have been shifted to hospitals or Covid care centres in Bengaluru, according to data by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.