Hospitals report sharp rise in infection due to monsoon

Hospitals have reported a rise in OPDs and admissions in monsoon-related infections in the past three weeks. More patients are suffering from dengue, malaria, gastroenteritis and viral infections, said doctors.

“OPDs have reported 30-40 per cent increase in cases of dengue, malaria and other waterborne diseases like Hepatitis A. This disease, which spreads due to water contamination, is caused mostly during summer,” said Dr Vikram Kesar, Biochemistry Department, Rao Tula Ram Memorial Hospital. 

“But such cases continue even with the monsoon setting in. Patients are suffering from nausea and vomiting due to high infection rates. Viral fever cases are also on the rise among children and adults alike,” said Dr Kesar.

Around 40 dengue cases have been reported in July this year. This is a sharp rise from last year’s seven cases in July. A 10-year-old girl, who was suspected to have been suffering from dengue, died at AIIMS here in July.

Stagnant water is the most common breeding ground of mosquitoes.
Besides water bodies, puddles near households, office buildings, hospitals and air coolers in which water is not regularly changed, containers kept open for long are mosquito breeding grounds.

At Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, doctors said the paediatric department has seen a sharp rise in both OPD and admission rates.

“The OPDs have seen a 20-30 per cent rise and admission rates have gone up by 30-40 per cent in the past few weeks. Most of the children are suffering from dengue, malaria and gastroenteritis,” said Dr Pradeep Singh, paediatrician, RML Hospital.

The outbreak of water-borne diseases are common from food and water contamination. Food from stalls and unhygienic water sources expose children to these risks. “We advise parents of infants to avoid bottle-feeding during this season. This increases chances of infection as crevices of bottles may be contaminated,” said Dr Singh.

At Lady Hardinge Medical College, doctors have seen at least thrice the number of usual patients suffering from monsoon-related infections. “Besides dengue, malaria, several patients are suffering from vomiting, diarrhoea and fever which are common diseases during this season,” said a senior doctor at LHMC.