Diarrhoea, dengue, fever surge in Ctg due to heatwave

Dengue, diarrhoea and viral fever patients are increasing in Chattogram, with an intense heatwave sweeping across the country.

Repeated power outages are adding to the suffering of the common people, local doctors have said. The fever patients show flu-like symptoms but are more at risk due to the heatwave and thus should consult physicians. Many child fever patients are also developing diarrhoea three-four days after falling sick.

Health officials advised people to maintain cleanliness, eat balanced food, drink pure water and take caution while walking in the sun. Health facilities are being overburdened with a medicine unit of Chittagong Medical College seeing nearly twofold more patients than it can accommodate. Many patients are taking treatment on corridors and verandas.

According to the Chattogram district Civil Surgeon's Office, 151 people were admitted to hospitals due to diarrhoea in the 24 hours till Tuesday morning. A day earlier, this number was 155. Every day for the past one week the number of diarrhoea patients have stayed above 150, according to district health officials.

In the 24 hours till 10am Tuesday, two people were newly infected with dengue. The number of dengue patients in Chattogram district so far this year is 197 – ten times higher than last year. The number of new malaria patients this year is 10 while the number of fever-related cases in 15 upazilas of the district has reached 500 this year.

Dr Mohammad Nurul Haider, a medical official at the Civil Surgeon's Office, said, "For the past one month, more patients are seeking treatment in upazila health complexes for diarrhoea than for other complications." Furthermore, the dengue endemic has come early this year and the spread has also been much wider, Dr Nurul Haider added.

Civil Surgeon Dr Mohammad Ilias Chowdhury said the outbreak of dengue is increasing due to intermittent rain. He said, "As it does not rain consistently, water gets the chance to accumulate and mosquito larvae are born, causing an increased outbreak."

On Monday, most of the outpatients at Chittagong Medical College and Hospital were found to have diarrhoea or fever. About 180 patients were treated in the children's department.

Dr Mohammad Mainul Karim, a medicine specialist at the hospital, said, "Most of the patients admitted at the medicine department suffer from fever and diarrhoea. The crisis has been sparked by the ongoing heat wave and, in this backdrop, not a single fever case should be treated lightly. Adult men should drink at least 3-3.5 litres of pure water a day and adult women 2.5-3 litres. At the same time, spicy, deep-fried foods and takeouts should be avoided."