Mumbai: City hospitals witness surge in cases of viral myositis

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Mumbai's healthcare facilities have observed a concerning rise in cases of viral myositis, a condition characterised by high fever and severe muscle inflammation. Patients have been reporting intense body aches, weakness, and restlessness, leading to hospital admissions for symptomatic management.

A 17-year-old male patient recently sought treatment at a private hospital in Grant Road, where he complained of intense body aches, muscle pains, and high fever. This pattern has been repeating among patients in various hospitals over the past few weeks, prompting medical professionals to investigate further.

Dr. Samrat Shah, a consultant internist at Bhatia Hospital, highlighted that these cases exhibit unique symptoms not typical of diseases like dengue or malaria, such as low white blood cell (WBC) and platelet counts. He emphasized that while dengue and malaria are commonly considered in such cases, the current patients' symptoms do not align with these diagnoses. Two out of the five cases observed at his hospital required hospitalization due to fainting incidents.

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The doctor stated that upon examination, it was revealed that these patients were grappling with a condition - a viral fever coupled with myositis, a form of muscle inflammation.

"Not every fever accompanied by low WBC and platelet counts is indicative of dengue or malaria. Our treatment approach has focused on effective hydration through intravenous fluids and comprehensive symptomatic management. These interventions have yielded recoveries across the patients," added Dr Shah.

The state-run hospitals too have been witnessing an increase in the number of such cases.

"We have been witnessing an increase in the number of cases related to viral fever and muscle pain. They test negative for dengue, and malaria but do have weakness due to muscle inflammation. This month, we have seen at least 10-20 such cases coming in the OPD basis of which six to seven of them required hospitalisation due to weakness," said Dr Madhukar Gaikwad, unit head of the medicine department at state-run Sir JJ Hospital.

"One of the important takeaways is that during the course of conducting comprehensive blood tests for high-grade fevers on days two or three of presentation, the monitoring of creatinine phosphokinase (CPK) levels should not be overlooked. Elevations in CPK levels, an indicator of heightened muscle enzyme activity, strongly suggest a viral fever accompanied by myositis," added Dr Shah.