Docs see rise in infectious diseases during monsoon

Report spike in cases of respiratory diseases, diarrhoea and vomiting

HYDERABAD: Along with rains and cold winds, number of infectious diseases too increase during monsoon.  As schools have resumed after summer break, students spending are on the verge of contracting bacterial and viral infections. City-based doctors urged that children should be taught how to cleanse hands so that chances of contracting infection drops. 

A senior consultant physician at KIMS Hospitals, Dr K Shivaraju said that apart from people picking up bacterial and respiratory track infections, existing problems such as asthma might get aggravated. 
“Drop in temperatures make people prone to infectious diseases, allergies.

We already suffer from pollution problem and if someone has asthma, it may get aggravated because of changing season. Elderly people are prone to pneumonia,” Dr Shivaraju said.  He added that from the past two-weeks, he has been attending more patients who complain of upper and lower respiratory diseases, vomiting and diarrhoea after attending functions, parties or celebrations. 

As chances of water contamination increases, doctors suggested that outside food(especially street food) and water should be avoided. Drinking contaminated water can lead to water-borne diseases such as Hepatitis A or E. People in many parts of city got used to buying drinking water cans. Boiling water is more important in such cases.

Joint director of the Telangana’s Epidemics cell, Dr G Subbalaxmi said that a meeting over seasonal diseases and vector-borne diseases is scheduled to discuss steps that need to be taken. She said that as extreme heat conditions phase out and cold conditions set in, human body takes sometime to accustom to it and people might suffer from fever, cold, cough in this transition stage. 

The joint director said that after rains, it should be ensured that water does not get stagnated inside or around houses, as water puddles are breeding ground for mosquitoes. This should be followed to avoid vector-borne diseases such as chikungunya, dengue. 

Workshop on Zika to be organised in first week of July
Monsoon is the season of vector-borne diseases and there is every chance for peopel to suffer from Dengue, Chikungunya if water gets stagnated. However, the health department is on alert after three cases of Zika were reported in Ahmedabad. As symptoms of Dengue, Chikungunya and Zika are similar with slight differences in intensity, gynaecologists, superintendents of hospitals would convene a meeting where signs and symptoms of Zika would be explained.

“A workshop would be organised in first week of July, for the specialists from Gandhi Hospital, Niloufer Hospital, Government Maternity Hospital at Sultanbazaar, Modern Government Maternity Hospital-Petlaburz and other hospitals where children get admitted,” said Dr G Subbalaxmi, joint director of TS Epidemic Cell.

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