Post-rain and heavy inundation, there has been a rise in fever cases and waterborne diseases in the city.
A number of hospitals in Chennai, both government and private, are seeing a steady rise in the number of patients reporting with fever and acute diarrhoeal diseases over the past few weeks.
With several parts of the city heavily inundated following the recent heavy rain, there have been complaints of drinking water contamination in many areas. As a result of poor hygiene and sanitation, there have been an upswing in infectious diseases.
According to health officials, fever and diarrhoeal diseases were on the rise, with certain zones, particularly zone IV (Tondiarpet) seeing a slight increase in the number of diarrhoeal diseases.
About 850 fever cases and 300 acute diarrhoeal diseases were reported in a fortnight this month in the city.
Cases of dengue and leptospirosis have also been reported.
Doctors of the departments of Medicine and Paediatrics of Government Stanley Medical College Hospital pointed out that there has been a three-fold rise in the number of fever cases.
Many of these patients were presenting with mild illness and a few had complications such as shock and renal failure, they said.
The hospital has a separate ward with about 160 beds for patients with fever and diarrhoeal diseases.
At the Rajiv Gandhi Government Government General Hospital, dean E. Theranirajan said at present, there were 52 in-patients with fever of which 11 had tested positive for dengue. “There is a rise in waterborne infections, particularly acute gastroenteritis following the rains. We saw a few patients who had vomiting, diarrhoea and severe dehydration resulting in acute kidney injury requiring dialysis. So, those experiencing tiredness and reduced urine output should seek medical help at the earliest,” he said.
Gastroenteritis cases
Janani Sankar, senior consultant, Kanchi Kamakoti CHILDS Trust Hospital, said they had many children turn up with gastroenteritis. “At least 70% of the hospital admissions are of patients with diarrhoea. There is an outbreak of dengue but most of the children are stable. We are seeing many cases of flu-like illnesses and respiratory illnesses. There are cases of viral fever, dengue fever and some cases of typhoid too,” she said. Cases of gastroenteritis had increased following flooding in many parts of the city that resulted in sewage mixing with drinking water. The symptoms of gastroenteritis in children are vomiting, loose stools while some may have fever and abdominal pain and dehydration, she said.
Usually, when rains abate, there is an increase in the incidence of waterborne and vector-borne diseases, R. Ebenezer, senior consultant and head, Critical Care Medicine, Apollo Speciality Hospitals, said.
R. Shanthimalar, dean of Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, said last month, the number of admissions due to fever were around 1,200 to 1,500, while it was around 700 to 800 so far this month. “Accessibility to clean water is important. Hydration and hygiene should be the priority. People should boil water and drink. Even packaged drinking water should be boiled before use, ” she said.
