KARACHI, Feb 19: Children in Karachi are witnessed to be increasingly suffering from chicken pox these days, for which local doctors stress upon proper care on part of parents.

Referring to the chicken pox cases at Civil Hospital, Dr Fehmina Arif and Prof Iqbal Memon of paediatrics wards, said that the viral disease was seasonal and did not have any complications other than the cases in which the patient was either above 35 or an infant.

In this context, Prof Iqbal Memon reminded that local population generally developed an immunity against the virus as vast majority was found to have experienced an episode of virus during their childhood.

"Over 80 per cent of local adult population are believed to have been immunized with high antibodies against the very virus," he said. However, he said that it was necessary for the infants (in first six months of their lives) and adults with no history of disease to be prevented against complications that included pneumonia and aseptic meningitis.

The ailment was said to be largely self-limiting requiring no particular or specific treatment but only simple symptomatic treatment. Elaborating the same, the paediatricians maintained that patient inflicted with chicken pox if also suffering from fever must not be administered aspirin under any condition.

Chicken pox manifests through abrasion on skin, initially on trunk spreading to limbs, then on central back portion and then on entire body gradually turning into fluid fill and pearl like lesion. These were also identified to occur in scrapes complemented with low or high grade fever and cough. - APP