The city recorded 166 cases of hepatitis and also a death of a five-year-old boy in June due to hepatitis, which has led the civic body to caution people against consuming roadside food and beverages.
As against 99 cases of Hepatitis recorded last year, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation recorded 166 cases. It had recorded 135 cases in May. Officials said that following the death of the five-year-old, a rapid survey was undertaken where 1,095 people were screened for jaundice-like symptoms.
Officials said that Hepatitis A and E are mainly transmitted through faecal-oral route caused by ingestion of contaminated food or water, and lack of personal hygiene. They asked people to not consume water from unidentified sources, to drink boiled or disinfected water, and wash leafy vegetables and salads thoroughly before consumption.
The city also recorded two cases of leptospirosis, even as the number of malaria cases jumped from 423 in May to 482 in June. With the monsoon picking up, cases of gastroenteritis too shot up from 920 in May to 979 in June. Suspected dengue cases too went up from 129 in May to 153 in June.
