Mumbai: In a worrying trend, the cases of gastroenteritis and malaria have doubled in the past week. As per the civic data, there were 78 cases of gastro between June 1 and June 5, which have now increased to 201 cases between June 6 to 12, which means daily 17 to 18 cases.
Similarly, Malaria cases have increased to 127 from 57 cases during the same period, which means 10 cases daily. Moreover, the city has witnessed only 180 cases of gastro in June 2021, but now over 200 cases in the first 12 days of June this year.
According to the data, most of the gastro andmalaria cases have been reported from Bandra, Khar, Kurla, Chembur, Dharavi, Matunga, Worli, Lower Parel and Malad.
Medical experts have also advised people to go for testing if they have a fever with a chill.
Gastroenteritis typically spreads by contact with an infected person or through contaminated food or water.
Symptom sare diarrhoea, cramps, nausea, vomiting and fever. Medical health officer from the civic health department said the cases have been scattered across Mumbai so they can’t point out which ward has maximum cases.
“We are screening people who are working on the construction sites. So, we have got mixed cases both from residential areas and from sites too. However, there have been no casualties so far,” he said.
Senior gastroenteritis from a private-run hospital said, “This infection can also be passed on from one individual to another if someone with diarrhoea fails to wash hands after using the toilet. We are seeing 2-3 patients coming with loose motions requiring hospitalisation due to dehydration almost every week,” he said.
All hospitals are preparing to handle patients with monsoon-related ailments. “We have kept separate beds ready to treat patients. Last year, we had seen a large number of malaria cases, which had surpassed the footfall of patients from the previous year,” said Sion hospital dean Dr Mohan Joshi.
