Diarrhoea cases spiral in Bengaluru city; rains, poor sanitation to blame

BENGALURU: Rain has become a key player when it comes to a surge in both acute and chronic diarrhoea in children.

“During rains, viruses are on the rise and hence there is an increase in diarrhoea cases among children. The two main types that we are seeing are viral diarrhoea caused by bacteria and viruses and the other is through contamination of water. Hence parents should take extra precaution when it comes to handling these cases,” says Dr S M Prasad, Assistant Professor, Dr BR Ambedkar Medical College. “In this season, thanks to the rains, almost 40 per cent of all the pediatric illnesses are of diarrhoea,” he adds.

“Sadly, the city sanitation cannot be relied on when it comes to prevention of diarrhoea,” says Dr Vishwanath Veeranna, Director in charge at Indira Gandhi Institute Of Child Health Hospital (IGICH) who says that the hospital is seeing many cases of viral fever and diarrhoea and gets some 1-2 cases daily. “Because of this season, there are many cases of diarrhoea and maintaining hygiene in and around the house is of utmost importance. Most important factors are hand-hygiene, safe drinking water and sanitation.”

However, city health authorities inform that the health department has conducted awareness drives for prevention of diarrhea.

“The government is conducting awareness drives to inform parents of infants below six months, on what all needs to be done in terms of diarrhoea prevention and also to those above six months as well,” says Dr M Rajini, District Health Officer, Bengaluru Urban.

Speaking about the prevention of diarrhoea in the pediatric population, Dr Veeranna says, “Parents should ensure safe drinking water, hand-hygiene, home-cooked and well prepared food. Most importantly, boiled and then cooled water should be had during this season.”

“Prevention is the best cure in tackling these killers hence the government should look into the sanitation and the drainage system across the State. Given the pollution and compounded with rain, diarrhoea cases in children will increase significantly,” warns Dr Ravishankara M., central executive board member, Indian Academy of Pediatrics Bangalore Pediatric Society.” He adds, “A clean home environment is critical for reducing transmission of pathogens that cause pneumonia or diarrhoea. Along with that, safe drinking water and controlling air pollution help reduce the risk of pneumonia among children.”