Monsoon adds to public health worry
This year, the Southwest monsoon has been spot on. Its progress across the country is timely and hence reassuring.
But it also brings in a sense of discomfort amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over the next four to five months, India will be faced with a humongous challenge since monsoons open the floodgates of vector-borne as well as communicable diseases.
Last year, the country reported at least 28,798 cases of seasonal influenza (H1N1) that claimed over 1,200 lives.
Dengue also continues to be a public health worry for a number of states in North, West and South India. In 2018, according to the statistics available with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the country reported over one lakh cases.
Over 70% of them are in the June-December period and states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala account for the lion’s share.
Then there is malaria, predominant in Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh as well as the Northeast. The burden of Japanese encephalitis and other AES continue to haunt many states in East and North India.
With the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) already expanding the symptoms list for Covid-19 to include muscle pain, sore throat, clogged nasal cavity, diarrhoea and loss of taste and smell, India’s over-stretched healthcare infrastructure is going to be tested for sure.
Going by models that forecast a prolonged battle against Covid-19, it is the already-stressed frontline health workers who would be under immense pressure.
The gloom does not seem to end here. The wet season would also present the challenges of natural calamities in the form of floods and cyclones.
Both the Centre and state governments put up a joint fight when Amphan ripped through West Bengal and Odisha last month.
The disaster rapid action forces showed exemplary courage in relief and restoration, braving the calamitous situation amidst the virus outbreak, but this is just the beginning.
The Centre must not lose sight of the associated challenges while combating the pandemic. It’s about time it firmed up robust plans keeping in view the challenges of each state.