Change in season sees spike in viral cases

A large number of them are elderly patients. Most patients are recovering within five days, they said.

“People of all ages are developing respiratory symptoms, especially those who are moving or travelling outside their houses frequently or working in closed spaces. People with co-morbidity and the more aged take a long time to recover and sometimes residual symptoms may take months to settle,” said Dr Neeraj Tulara, infectious disease specialist at Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital.

Those requiring hospital admissions are more among the elderly presenting symptoms of pneumonia.

Dr Kirti Sabnis, infectious disease specialist at Fortis Hospital, said that the ones most affected are patients with weak immunity and co-morbidity.

“It is affecting patients who have lung diseases like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), asthma or long-term lung problems like Bronchiectasis,” she said.

“But majority of the infections are viral in nature and not severe,” according to Dr Kirti Sabnis.

“There is also a dramatic rise in cases of seasonal allergies due to dust, mold, allergens and pollen. Thus, many people will show symptoms such as runny nose, nasal congestion, cough, sneezing and even fever,” said Dr Chandrashekhar Kulkarni, senior consultant, cardiovascular thoracic surgery, Global Hospital, Parel.

During festivities like Diwali, especially with bursting of firecrackers, the air quality sees sharp deterioration, which also leads to a rise in cases of allergies. Doctors cautioned that a large number of people who are working from home are prone to developing allergies due to the changing weather.

“People who are spending more time indoors, they are more likely to see worsening of allergies due to indoor pathogens. Also, the infection gets easily passed on through air droplets in an indoor setting,” said Dr Sabnis.