Title
Clinical profile of children with influenza like illness during pre-monsoon at coastal Karaikal, Puducherry, India
Authors
Dande Naga Mahesh1, B. Sreelatha1,*, S. Vinoth1 & S. Nancy2,*
Affiliation
1Department of Paediatrics, Vinayaka Mission's Medical College and Hospital, Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation - Deemed to be University (VMRF-DU), Karaikal, Puducherry, India; 2Department of Community Medicine, Vinayaka Mission's Medical College and Hospital, Vinayaka Mission's Research Foundation - Deemed to be University (VMRF-DU), Karaikal, Puducherry, India; *Corresponding authors
Dande Naga Mahesh - E-mail: nagamahesh42@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9704376204
B. Sreelatha - E-mail: sreelathavenkat@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9704376204
S. Vinoth - E-mail: rajkantmc@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9704376204
S. Nancy - E-mail: sngoovi@gmail.com; Phone: +91 9159804286
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received March 1, 2024; Revised March 31, 2024; Accepted March 31, 2024, Published March 31, 2024
Abstract
Influenza infections in developing countries are under reported and WHO estimates that nearly 99% of influenza deaths worldwide occur in children under-five years of age in Asian and African countries. Consequently, this study aims to analyze the use of clinical profile and easily available laboratory parameters to aid identification of the possible viral etiology in the setting of pre-monsoon ILI. A cross-sectional study was carried out for three months among children with ILI attending fever clinic of a tertiary care hospital in Karaikal, South India. In the study population the prevalence of ILI was highest in the age group four to five years followed by school aged children. Adolescents were affected the least. Influenza B was most common virus causing ILI in this region, followed by covid-19 infection. Laboratory parameters depicted a significantly high ESR in COVID-19 infected ILI children. They also exhibited leucopenia and normal platelet counts. Clinical symptoms and laboratory parameters which are easily available and cheaper can be used in resource poor settings of healthcare to identify possible influenza and COVID-19 infected children amongst cases presenting with ILI.
Keywords
Covid-19; CRP; ESR; influenza like illness (ili); cross-sectional study
Citation
Mahesh et al. Bioinformation 20(3): 252-257 (2024)
Edited by
Peter N Pushparaj
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
