Editorial
Worsening diarrhoea situation
Ensure fresh water supply
IT is disconcerting that the number of Diarrhoea cases is increasing in the city with the admission of 416 patients on Saturday at ICDDR,B hospital at Mahakhali, Dhaka. And the alarming news is, hospital doctors think the number would further increase in the month of May. Reportedly, most patients belong to the lower income groups who are in the habit of drinking water from the roadside food stalls to beat the extreme hot and humid weather. Health experts believe the water is highly contaminated and remains the major source of the disease. Stale and uncovered food on the roadside is another possible source that also needs to be taken into cognizance by the health authorities. In this context, we believe drastic measures should be taken to first, treat the patients and second, identify all the sources from where the bacteria find their way to human food and water chain and seal them permanently to avoid further contamination.
There is much to talk about the poor quality water that WASA offers the citizens to drink on a daily basis. In many parts of the city WASA water pipes get corroded and thus allow underground sewage to sip into the pipes. In the rural areas, a large segment of the population still consumes contaminated water from rivers or ponds taking risks on their health. The bacteria from such sources not only cause diarrhoea but typhoid and jaundice as well. This is a serious health hazard that the relevant authorities must address at the earliest.
As for the worsening diarrhoea situation in the city, one way to handle it is early detection and reporting of the cases to the hospitals to minimise threat to life. The local government health workers in collaboration with the NGOs can play an effective role by being proactive in identifying cases of diarrhoea and administering simple measures like oral saline. We believe, all government hospitals should be equipped with extra bed and medicine to admit and treat diarrhoea patients so that simple cases don't get referred to ICDDR,B. The health ministry and NGOs could consider launching massive awareness campaign across the country at such critical times.
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