The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has recorded a spike in the number of monsoon-related cases such dengue, chikungunya, leptospirosis cases in the city this month so far, as compared to June and July.
As per a report released by the civic body, 555 dengue cases were recorded between August 1-14, compared to 535 cases in July and only 93 cases in June.
Meanwhile, Chikungunya has tripled in comparison: From 25 cases in July to 84 in August.
While 25 cases of malaria were reported daily in July, the corresponding number has climbed to 40 in August so far.
Other monsoon diseases such as leptospirosis (a bacterial infection that spreads from wading in contaminated flood water) have been steadily increasing: From 28 in June to 141 in July to 172 in August so far. Cases of H1N1 stood at 161 in July and rose to 119 in just 15 days.
The graph appears steeper when compared with the caseload of monsoon diseases in July. Besides, June, which saw the start of the monsoon, had relatively lesser number of dengue, chikungunya and leptospirosis cases.
According to experts, these illnesses may persist for a week or two even after the rain stops completely. They are expecting to see a reduction in cases by the mid or end of September. If rain continues, there is also a possibility of a further spike in the number of cases by October.
Dr. Tushar Parikh, Senior Neonatologist and HOD Neonatology at Motherhood Hospital, Kharadi, Pune said, “There is a surge in monsoon-related ailments such as dengue, gastroenteritis and hand-foot-and-mouth disease in children in Pune. “Every day we at Motherhood see 5 to 10 new cases of dengue, 5 to 10 cases of gastroenteritis, and 5 to 6 cases of hand-foot-and-mouth disease. These illnesses are particularly common in children less than 5 years old.
"We need to remain vigilant as the cases may go up rapidly as they spread from one another. The numbers may infant increase due to heavy rains," added Dr Parikh.
The common complaints for Dengue are high fever and not responding to paracetamol along with body aches, headache, and leg pains. Children with dengue have extreme weakness and flushing red skin.
Symptoms:
Children with Gastroenteritis have loose motions pain in the abdomen and fever. Many of these children get admitted for dehydration or high fever. Children with Hand-Foot-And-Mouth disease have a high fever and pustules rashes on hands palms soles, peri-oral or perianal location. They are unable to eat/swallow properly due to severe mouth ulcerations. We are seeing a rise in these cases due to rain.
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