Health - Beat the heat, not at the cost your health

The rising mercury level and the dry spell have resulted in an
increase in the number of water-borne disease cases being reported in
Bangalore hospitals.
Doctors, who have seen an increase in gastroenteritis cases in the
last few weeks,warned that if people didn't take precautions, they
were likely to land up with jaundice, hepatitis A and typhoid, apart
from gastroenteritis.
While consumption of contaminated water was said to be the main cause,
food prepared in unhygienic conditions and cut fruits sold on the
roadsides were also the culprits, they said.
According to Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) project
coordinator (communicable diseases) Manoranjan Hegde, 193 cases of
gastroenteritis hadbeen reported in the city since January. Of these,
70 were reported from March 1 to 25.
The recent death of a two-year-old boy from Venkatswamy Gardens in
Jagjivan Ram Nagar , allegedly due to water contamination, was the
only gastroenteritis death, according to officials.
Although the numbers are a little lower than those reported during the
same period last year, doctors advised people to take precautions to
stay safe.
Not an outbreak
Asserting that it was not an outbreak, Mr. Hegde said most of the
sporadic cases were reported from areas in east Bangalore such as
Murphy Town, D.J. Halli, Tannery Road, Neelsandra and Koramangala,
apart from Jagjivan Ram Nagar and surrounding areas.
Doctors at the State-run Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, Victoria
Hospital and K.C. General Hospital are also regularly seeing patients
with complaints ofdiarrhoea, vomiting and dehydration.
"We get at least seven or eight patients with symptoms of
gastroenteritis every day. But, most of them are treated as
out-patients. Even those who were admitted have recovered," said K.R.
Ravindra, associate professor, Department of Medicine at Victoria
Hospital.
A senior doctor at the Bowring Hospital said at least three patients
came with complaints of diarrhoea every day.
Symptoms
Gastroenteritis is the frequent passage of loose stools.
It is most often caused by infection from bacteria such as E. coli and
Vibrio cholerae, or by viruses and parasites such as giardia.
Symptoms include diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps,
followed by dehydration.
Dr. Ravindra advised people to drink water that was boiled and cooled.
People must watch what they eat, he said, adding that "it is advisable
to eat hot home-cooked food."
Cut fruits
BBMP Deputy Commissioner (Health) Y.M.Ramachandra Murthy, who claimed
the palike had started creating awarenesson the diseases in vulnerable
areas, said it was difficult to control the sale of fruits on the
roadsides.
"Eating cut fruits from roadside vendors that are either not washed
properlyor are washed with impurewater can be harmful. Our efforts to
check this risk has been met with stiff resistance from the local
people," he said.
Citing an example, he said: "When we tried to check the sale of cut
fruits in the vicinity of the Vidhana Soudha and the High
Court,government employees objected and demanded that the vendors be
allowed to operate from there."
"One should eat fresh fruitsonly after washing them thoroughly and
fruit juices are healthy only when prepared under hygienic
conditions," he said.

--
:-:>