Pox on you?

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">After jaundice, it''s chicken pox that has Mumbai clucking in despair</span><br /><br />Even as the recent jaundice outbreak is slowly fading from public memory, chicken pox is now set to cook the city''s goose, as it were. A large number of chicken pox cases have been reported in Mumbai in the last few days, affecting both children and adults.<br /><br />Doctors say that the virus is increasingly spreading in the city especially in the last fortnight. On an average, doctors in Mumbai are getting three to four cases of chicken pox a week.<br /><br />"This condition is particularly observed during the hotter seasons. I''ve been getting three to four cases per week for the last two weeks," says Dr Anil Mehta, a pediatrician. <br /><br />Though this is a disease which mostly affects the children, Dr Mehta says that adults who had not got vaccinated during childhood and had never been exposed to this virus have the risk of getting chicken pox.<br /><br />Dr K K Goyal, a general practitioner, says that the virus affects 75 percent to 80 percent children (who are not vaccinated) while adults affected between 20 to 25 percent. Doctors say that a patient takes seven to 15 days to recover from it. <br /><br />It''s currently exam time and children are the most affected. Parents are also hassled. "My 10-year-old son is down with chicken pox and can''t take his exam," says Rekha Sawant, a parent. "What''s more difficult is to keep him away from my younger son whose exams are also on." <br /><br />With the disease being highly contagious, Dr Mehta says to control the number from growing, people should avoid contacts with chicken pox-affected patients for at least five days.<br /><br />Moreover, doctors say that the disease is self-remedial. "However, there are anti-viral drugs which reduce the intensity of the disease as well as the infectiousness. If the patient is put on medication in the first 48 hours, the disease symptoms will not be so severe. The intensity of rash will also be reduced, as will the recovery time, " says Dr Mehta. <br /><br />The civic officials in the meanwhile don''t have much to say on the outbreak. They term it as a ''season'' for chicken pox. However, they maintain that it is under control. "Our executive health officer will further asses the situation," says Additional Municipal Commissioner (Health) V L Patankar.<br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">manish.pachouly@timesgroup.com</span></div> </div>