GUWAHATI, Feb 17 � An unexpected rise of typhoid and viral fever cases in the city has baffled a section of doctors, who agree that young children are particularly vulnerable to the diseases.
A large number of patients have been admitted to nursing homes and the Gauhati Medical College Hospital from the city and its adjoining areas. Doctors say that in some cases, patients have had fever as high as 105 for three or more days before they were admitted.
Dr Ranjan Saikia, a city-based pediatrician, said that such diseases generally are frequent in this time of the year. However, this time the number of patients has shot up quite noticeably.
Both the diseases manifest in sharp rise in body temperature, body ache, nausea, loss of appetite, and delirium in some cases. Even after the start of treatment, the symptoms can remain for several days. Some doctors say that both viral fever and typhoid, in their experience, have developed resistance to some well-known antibiotics and patients under medication nowadays need more time to recuperate.
Doctors in Gauhati Medical College Hospital revealed that patients with viral fever are not uncommon, but in some cases they are taking more time to make a complete recovery. �Earlier, it was a week or less a patient took to get well. Now the fever and weakness continues over a longer period,� said a senior doctor.
The incidence of typhoid has also emerged as a concern because the disease spreads through infected human excreta or urine coming into contact with food or water. Citizens who contacted this reporter wanted the authorities to carry out tests on samples of piped water in the city.
