25 chickenpox cases in Patna district

Patna: Chickenpox seems to be spreading in various districts of the state. As many as 25 fresh cases have been reported from three blocks of Patna district, said state health department officials here on Monday.
As many as nine cases each have been reported from Dhanarua and Fatuha and five from Masaurhi block. This has been stated by a team of the civil surgeon’s office in its report submitted to health department on Monday after visiting the areas.Earlier, 97 cases of chickenpox had been reported in March in Patna district. All the victims were under the age of five years.
The situation is under control. Our teams are camping in the affected areas for creating awareness, said Patna civil surgeon Dr K K Mishra.
As many as 36 chickenpox cases were reported from Sheikhpura district in March. All the victims were under 12 years. Outbreak of measles was also reported from Nawada district.
Doctors say the symptoms of measles and chickenpox must not be confused. “In both the diseases, rashes develop but are caused by different types of viruses. Measles mostly affect children and boils are found on face and lower limbs. While in chickenpox, the entire body may have boils,” PMCH medicine HoD Dr J K L Das said and added if they are neglected, as generally happens in rural areas, they can lead to pneumonia and brain fever. He also said that as a precautionary measure, anti-chickenpox and anti-measles vaccine should be taken in the ‘season’ of these diseases.