Mumbai: Dengue & other monsoon-related diseases on the rise

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Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?n...71692&pageid=0

Dengue draws first blood
Deepa Suryanarayan
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 03:33 IST

Dreaded leptospirosis rears its ugly head, the first case is reported at Wadia Hospital

It is that time of the year again, when it pours and the city gets waterlogged. Swirling in the muddy waters are viruses - both water-borne and vector-borne - triggering a plethora of monsoon-related illnesses.

While malaria claimed its first victim of the season last Wednesday, the first death due to dengue - caused by the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes - was reported from Andheri on Monday. The patient, 73-year-old Vinayak Mahadev Bapat, who lived in Vijaynagar Society in Andheri, died of the dreaded fever at Sanjivani Hospital on Monday morning, said officials of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

?The patient was admitted to the hospital on June 13 with symptoms of dengue. He had several other problems like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease and expired at 6.30 am on Monday,? said Dr Santosh Jadia, intensivist at the hospital. Both state health department and BMC have categorised dengue as the most potential threat this year.

Malaria claimed its second victim of the season, when a 23-year-old Andheri resident died at KEM hospital on Sunday night, added civic health department officials.

Making matter worse, the first case of the dreaded leptospirois was reported at Wadia Hospital on Monday. ?In the past 24 hours, 17 cases of malaria, 74 cases of fever and 29 cases of gastroenteritis have been registered in various civic hospitals across the city,? said Dr Neera Kewalramani, head of the epidemiological cell, BMC.

As the rains have just begun, the soaring numbers of monsoon-related illnesses have caused concern. Over 2,100 have taken ill in the city ever since the beginning of monsoon on June 6. There have been 1,385 cases of fever, 425 cases of gastroenteritis, 16 cases of dengue, 273 cases of malaria and one leptospirosis, said BMC officials.

While lack of hygiene and construction activities in the city are being blamed for malaria and dengue, private practitioners believe that the civic authorities should not be made solely responsible for the outbreak of monsoon-related ailments in the city. ?You cannot blame the civic authorities and the government when you invite diseases by leading an unhealthy or unhygienic life,? said Dr Suhas Pingle, general secretary, General Practitioner?s Association of Mumbai.

According to Dr Pingle, keeping monsoon-related ailments at bay is a matter of following some simple rules: avoid eating out, avoid drinking contaminated water, ensure there are no stagnant pools of water where mosquitoes can breed and avoid going out in water-logged areas, especially barefoot.

s_deepa@dnaindia.net

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Re: Mumbai: Dengue & other monsoon-related diseases on the rise

Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-n...-lives/323796/

Monsoon-related ailments claim 2 lives
Express News Service
Posted online: Tuesday , June 17, 2008 at 02:05:40
Updated: Tuesday , June 17, 2008 at 02:05:40

Mumbai, June 16 Dengue claimed life of a 73-yr-old man from Andheri on Monday as monsoon continued to lash the city. He was admitted to a private hospital after he started showing the symptoms. A 23-year-old man also died at the KEM hospital due to malaria, taking the total death toll caused by monsoon-related ailments to three in the last six days.

When contacted, Dr Neera Kewalramani, deputy executive health officer, epidemology cell, said there was no need for citizens to worry. ?The monsoon has started early this year and that?s why there are cases of casualties in the first week of June itself. Last year the rain related ailments started only in July,? she said.

Though both deceased were residents of Andheri East area, she said the locations where the deceased belonged to were different ? railway station area and Mahakali caves.

This year the BMC is also expecting more cases of deaths and has alerted citizens to not ignore any kind of illness and asked to consult doctors immediately. ?Also, there is a lot of awareness among citizens regarding monsoon diseases,? Dr Kewalramani said.

Meanwhile, the number of patients suffering from rain-related ailments continued to rise with 122 patients being admitted in last 24 hours across various city hospitals. According to sources, 74 cases of fever, 29 cases of gastroenteritis, a case of leptospirosis, a case of dengue and 17 cases of malaria were reported in various city hospitals.

Till now, as many as 1,200 patients were admitted to the hospitals, the sources added.

Number of patients: 1,200
Deaths: 3
New patients: 122

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Re: Mumbai: Dengue & other monsoon-related diseases on the rise

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1171914

Malaria claims its third victim
DNA Correspondent
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 03:45 IST

Malaria claimed its third victim when a 35-year-old from Vikhroli died in Rajawadi hospital, Ghatkopar, on Tuesday.

Besides malaria, cases of other monsoon-related diseases, like fever, leptospirosis and dengue, have also been registered in civic and state-run hospitals. According to Dr Neera Kewalramani, head of epidemiological cell, BMC, den-gue is posing more threat this year, with four suspected cases being detected in the past 24 hours. This has taken the dengue tally to 20 since June 1. The disease has already claimed a life.

Nine cases of den-gue and two deaths were registered in June, 2007.

The public health department has urged citizens feeling feverish to immediately consult doctors. Dr Jairaj Thanekar, executive health officer, BMC, said that if detected early, leptospirosis, dengue and malaria could be treated easily. ?Their symptoms are the same. Do not take any chance. Consult a doctor and undergo a thorough investigation,? he said.

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Re: Mumbai: Dengue & other monsoon-related diseases on the rise

Source: http://www.expressindia.com/latest-n...lments/325989/

Two more deaths due to monsoon ailments

Express News Service
Posted online: Sunday , June 22, 2008 at 12:51:45
Updated: Sunday , June 22, 2008 at 12:51:45

Mumbai, June 21 Two more persons died of the monsoon-related ailments in the city, taking the toll this monsoon to nine.

A 30-year-old man from Santacruz died at King Edward Memorial hospital, Parel and a 16-year-old boy from Govandi succumbed to vivax malaria on Saturday morning.

During the same period, 155 persons with fever were admitted to the civic hospitals. Fifty-three people with gastroenteritis and 26 with malaria were admitted in hospitals across the city. Four persons each are taking treatment for leptospirosis and dengue.

Last week, one person with suspected cholera was admitted to the St George Hospital. He was later shifted to the Kasturba hospital for infectious diseases. With his test results turning out negative for cholera, he has been discharged after getting treatment for three days.

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Re: Mumbai: Dengue & other monsoon-related diseases on the rise

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1172903

If you have fever and headache, don?t just visit your chemist
Deepa Suryanarayan
Monday, June 23, 2008 02:03 IST

One more person died of fever on Sunday, taking the toll of monsoon-related deaths to 10 since the beginning of June.

?Apart from this, 137 cases of fever and 42 of gastroenteritis were registered at civic hospitals on Sunday. Vector-borne diseases too showed a rise, with two cases of dengue and 20 of malaria being reported,? said Neera Kewalramani, head of BMC?s epidemiological cell.

Since June1, four people in the city have died of fever and at least 1,500 have been admitted to hospitals. Civic hospitals have reported an average of 120 cases of fever every day over the past week.

Doctors have warned against self-medication. If detected early, cases of leptospirosis, dengue and malaria can be easily treated, said doctors. ?The symptoms are same for leptospirosis, dengue and malaria. Consult a doctor at the earliest,? said Dr Jayaraj Thanekar, BMC?s executive health official. When it comes to patients, the educated and upper-middle class usually go for self-medication and later land up in hospitals.

?There tendency to go for self-medication can have disastrous results,? said Dr Arvind Bhonsale, general physician. Hundreds of patients visit him at an advanced stage of the illness, he said. And getting admitted to hospitals was the only option left.

?You should seek a doctor?s advice for any new symptoms which you are not used to ? be it a headache or fever,? said Dr Suhas Pingle, general secretary, General Practitioner?s Association of Mumbai. Last monsoon, one of my patients took several Crocin tablets to bring his fever down, without realising that he was suffering from cerebral malaria. By the time he came to me, he had slipped into a coma. And he was a highly educated guy,? he said.

One must realise that a simple headache could have deeper underlying causes. It could be a problem with the eyes, sinus, migraine or fever, which could be viral or malaria. In rare cases, it could also be a brain tumour or bleeding inside the brain, said Pingle.

?While it is not necessary to rush to the hospital every time you have fever, make sure you visit your family doctor, at least during the monsoon,? said Kewalramani.

At least 20-30 monsoon-related diseases can be treated by a doctor without hospitalisation. The body?s reaction to viral fever, malaria or dengue depends on an individual?s immunity, said Dr SN Acharya, general practitioner. ?It is therefore advisable to visit your doctor,? he said.

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Re: Mumbai: Dengue & other monsoon-related diseases on the rise

Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1174610
Lepto bares its fangs, kills 3 in 24 hrs
Deepa Suryanarayan
Monday, June 30, 2008 03:59 IST

After the gastroenteritis and cholera scare that hit the city last week, it is now another water-borne disease ? the dreaded leptospirosis - which seems to be giving the civic department as well as Mumbaikars sleepless nights. Four more deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the toll of monsoon-related ailments to 30 so far.

Of the four deaths, three were due to leptospirosis, civic health officials confirmed. So far leptospirosis has already claimed eight lives in the past one week and over 25 patients have been admitted to civic hospitals with the disease. The first victim was a 40-year-old patient from Parel village who died on June 23.

On Sunday, an 18-year-old male patient from Kurar village, Malad, succumbed at MW Desai Hospital while a 58-year-old female patient from Andheri died at Cooper Hospital ? both due to leptospirosis. The third victim was a 38-year-old male patient from Kalachowkie who died at KEM Hospital.

A 45-year-old male patient from Wadala was admitted to KEM on Thursday with high fever, but later died of acute respiratory distress syndrome, a symptom of leptospirosis.

In the last 24 hours, 235 patients have been admitted to various civic hospitals in the city due to monsoon-related ailments. ?Of the 235, around 13 were suffering from suspected leptospirosis,? said Dr Neera Kewalramani, head of epidemiological cell, BMC.

Due to the heavy downpour in mid-June there was water-logging in some low-lying areas. ?Leptospirosis has an incubation period of 10-15 days. Since that has ended, there has been a sudden rise in leptospirosis cases,? said general physician Dr SN Acharya.

BMC?s health department, however, said that they were prepared to tackle the disease. Hospitals have already stocked up doxycycline, the antibiotic for treatment of leptospirosis since the beginning of June, a BMC official said.

?Leptospirosis can be avoided by wearing proper footwear,? said Kewalramani, adding that BMC had issued a health advisory to people against consuming roadside food and wading through dirty water.

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Re: Mumbai: Dengue & other monsoon-related diseases on the rise

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/M...ow/3190533.cms

Woman dies of dengue, toll rises to 33
3 Jul 2008, 0325 hrs IST,TNN

MUMBAI: A 29-year-old woman from Andheri died of dengue on Wednesday, taking the toll of rain-related illnesses to 33 since June. Another 222 Mumbaikars were hospitalised with various monsoon ailments.

According to civic health officials, the woman was admitted to Holy Spirit Hospital in Andheri (E) on June 5 and diagnosed with dengue.

Another four persons were admitted to hospitals with dengue, 35 with malaria, 132 with fever, 41 with gastroenteritis and 10 with leptospirosis.

Meanwhile, TOI found another patient suspected to be suffering from cholera. He was admitted to St George's Hospital on June 23 but was shifted to the infectious diseases hub, Chinchpokli's Kasturba Hospital, after he was diagnosed with the water-borne disease.

"His stool samples were tested at Bombay Hospital and they showed the presence of the cholera bacteria in the hanging drop test," said a St George's Hospital doctor, adding that the patient was from another town and brought in with watery diarrhoea and vomiting.

Dr Neera Kewalramani, head of the BMC's epidemiology cell, said no case had been notified to them.