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Measures to check water-borne diseases

PUDUCHERRY: The Health Department has advised all people to drink boiled water to prevent water-borne diseases, which could occur after the rains as a result of water stagnation and contamination of drinking water sources. A special helpline has been launched for the public.

Water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, jaundice and gastro enteritis could be prevented with proper precautionary measures, said officials of the Health Department.

“All deputy directors of the public health department are on field visits now. Primary Health Centres will function round the clock and doctors have been posted,” Director of Health and Family Welfare Dilip Kumar Baliga said.

The Department has launched a special helpline to deal with emergency situations. People can contact phone number – 2336138 – for help and the department would depute a medical team to the spot, he added.

“Do not drink unprotected water. As sewage overflows during the rains, it can mix with drinking water and cause contamination. This can led to water-borne diseases such as jaundice, diarrhoea and typhoid. The first thing to do is to boil water. It is better to boil even mineral water,” he stressed. Already, the department has started to distribute chlorine tablets at villages. The staff has started to spray DDT at various places to prevent mosquito breeding, officials said.

Medical Superintendent of Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital and Post Graduate Institute V. Govindaraj said chlorine tablets should be used to purify drinking water. Stagnation of water near houses should be prevented, he added. “People should not use the water from taps in areas of water logging. The most common cause of gastro enteritis soon after the rains is due to consuming contaminated drinking water which has mixed with sewage,” he said. Overhead tanks and water sumps should be cleaned after the rains, he added.

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