MUMBAI: With rains lashing across Mumbai, the deluge of diseases such as dengue and malaria has begun, said BMC officials on Tuesday. According to the latest monsoon diseases update, the first three days of July have seen 49 cases of gastroenteritis, 39 cases of malaria and seven cases of dengue.
The update said dengue cases were increasing in Ward E (Reay Road and Madanpura areas) and Ward H East (areas such as Indira Nagar, Gaondevi and Vakola pipeline).
In June, the city had registered 350 cases of malaria, 39 cases of dengue and 543 cases of gastroenteritis, said BMC executive health officer Dr Mangala Gomare. Doctors said that while the number of dengue cases have begun rising, it's not a big worry yet. "However, once there is a break in rains, mosquito breeding will increase as will transmission of diseases such as malaria and dengue," said Dr Gautam Bhansali from Bombay Hospital near Marine Lines. Constant rain wash away mosquito eggs and larvae, but they stay put when it stops raining.
Meanwhile, pediatrician Dr Vijay Yewale said cases of viral fever among children have increased. "We test kids for Covid and fevers caused by H1N1 or flu or some respiratory viruses," said Dr Yewale.
Doctors have also urged people who waded in flood waters to watch out for leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that spreads through urine of animals such as rats, dogs and cattle. For the last few years, the BMC has appealed to people who have waded through flood waters to take a preventive antibiotic dose within 72 hours of exposure.
A BMC hospital doctor said anyone with joint pain, fever, chills, cough, sore throat, fatigue and runny nose should get tested for monsoon diseases apart from Covid.
