CHENNAI: Several private hospitals in the city are seeing packed outpatient departments, full wards, and emergency-room waiting times of up to 12 hours for beds as respiratory infections, influenza and dengue rise ahead of the monsoon. While the number of severe cases remains low, deaths can occur particularly among the elderly and people with co-morbidities, doctors said.Patients with respiratory ailments and flu are arriving with high fever, sore throat, cold, cough, severe body and leg pain, chest discomfort, fatigue and poor appetite. In children and adolescents, doctors are also seeing prolonged fever, marked exhaustion and, in a few cases, fever-related confusion or delirium.Most recover with medicines and rest. However, some require nebulisation or intravenous fluids, pushing up admissions, doctors said.Ward admissions have increased sharply, said infectious diseases expert Dr V Ramasubramanian of Apollo Hospitals.“When patients come into the emergency room, the wait for a room or bed extends up to 12 hours. Similarly, patients who need to be shifted out of the ICU have long waits for rooms or beds in general wards. The waiting time in outpatient units has also increased considerably,” he said.Hospitals across the city are seeing similar trends and report that respiratory illnesses caused by viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, rhinovirus and parainfluenza are the most common.These are followed by influenza, including H1N1, and dengue, he said.The increase reflects both a seasonal rise in infections and a larger pool of vulnerable patients, said Gleneagles Hospital director of infectious diseases Dr Subramanian Swaminathan.“People are reaching hospitals earlier because both awareness and anxiety have increased. While people of all ages are at risk of severe infection, most patients admitted have comorbidities such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease and cancer. These conditions make a fever or respiratory infection more serious,” he said.
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The Directorate of Public Health said the number of cases seen in 2026 and the severity of illness are not alarming. Doctors agree, but say dengue deaths can occur.Apollo Hospitals, for instance, recorded a death last week after a 65-year-old patient who came with fever tested positive for dengue and developed haemorrhagic shock.Deaths, particularly among the elderly, are caused by delay, doctors said Dr S Deepa, geriatrician and head of the National Institute of Ageing. The institute has recorded a spike in admissions for respiratory and influenza-like illnesses caused by multiple viruses, she said.Children’s hospitals are also reporting similar spikes. “The year’s first respiratory and flu surge began unusually early, in May. We thought it would delay the second surge, but it started in July, as soon as schools reopened. It continued through Aug and Sept,” said paediatric infectious diseases expert Dr J Rajkumar.“Adolescents are being admitted with high fever, fatigue, poor intake and, in some cases, fever-related delirium,” he said.
