Pune heat: Surge in typhoid, gastrointestinal infections
Pune heatwave conditions have led to a surge in typhoid and gastrointestinal infections, with doctors warning against contaminated food and water.
During intense summer heat, there are high chances of food getting spoiled and water getting contaminated. (Source: Freepik) With maximum temperature in Pune crossing the 42 degrees Celsius mark, doctors are seeing increasing cases of gastrointestinal infections, fever and even typhoid. While most of these cases are treatable at OPDs, some cases of typhoid required hospitalisation.
During intense summer heat, there are high chances of food getting spoiled and water getting contaminated. Hot weather helps bacteria and parasites grow faster especially when food is left outside or water hygiene is poor. Dr Piyush Chaudhari, infectious diseases specialist at Jehangir hospital, said they have been getting cases of gastrointestinal infections and typhoid. “Some cases even required hospitalisation,” he said.
While cases of heat exhaustion are treated at OPDs, the temperature has been fluctuating in Pune with summer breeze in the evening and night hours. Dr Aditya Bari, consultant physician at Poona hospital, too said they were seeing cases of abdominal discomfort and summer-related diarrhoeal illness.
Staying hydrated is important, doctors said. However, they cautioned against juices with ice particularly from roadside vendors during extreme heat as ice can be made from contaminated water. Dr Chaudhari also said that due to extreme heat as a safety precaution avoid some chutneys and raw salads because of the risk of food spoilage and bacterial growth.
Data from Pune Municipal Corporation’s health department from January till March this year showed there were a total of 2,323 cases of acute diarrhoeal disease and 302 cases of gastroentritis.
215 cases of heatstroke in Maharashtra, 70 from Sambhajinagar
The state has reported a total of 215 heatstroke cases from March 1 till date of which 70 are from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Heatstroke accounted for one-fourth of the cases reported from Nashik and Nandurbar. Officials said there were three suspected heatstroke deaths. “Heatstroke cases are present but relatively low, and there is no confirmed death due to heatstroke,” an official said.
As per state health department data, Nandurbar reported 28 heatstroke cases while Nashik reported18. There were 12 cases of heatstroke from Amravati, 11 from Buldhana, eight each from Gadchiroli and Parbhani, seven from Akola, six each from Ratnagiri, Ahilyanagar and Yavatmal, and five from Nanded. Four cases of heatstroke were reported from Raigad.
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