Mumbai: Water and food contamination are resulting in a high number of cases of gastroenteritis in the city even as health care professionals have cautioned that affected persons must take medical advice soon after seeing the symptoms.
According to Dr Asif Bhojani, consultant physician, it has been generally seen that there is a spike in the number of gastroenteritis cases in the monsoon season and the same has happened this year. “It happens sometimes that people go for home remedies like having sugar and salt solution, which is alright in the beginning stages,” he said.
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However, if the problems persists and there are symptoms like loose motions, stomach pain, body ache and fever then it is best see a physician and follow his advice, Dr Bhojani said. If required the patient may even have to be admitted to a hospital where he will be given treatment for about three to four days, he added. The reason a gastroenteritis patient has to be hospitalized is that if there is acute dehydration then it may even lead to renal failure, the doctor said.
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Municipal sources said that it is for the city residents to ensure that they drink only clean drinking water, and boiling it is a good option. “Even the food that they consume should be fresh and people should try to avoid having stale or contaminated food,” he explained.
Daily report of patients admitted to municipal and government hospitals due to monsoon related diseases on July 15, 2016: Gastroenteritis (68), Suspected Leptospirosis (12), Malaria (30), Suspected Dengue (13), Typhoid (11) and Hepatitis (A&E) (1).
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