LONG QUEUES: Patients and their relatives at the Victoria Hospital in Bangalore on Monday. — Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

Bangalore: With the monsoon playing truant and Bangalore's weather at its unpredictable best, there has been a rise in cases of water-borne diseases.

Hospitals in the city are reporting an increased incidence of gastroenteritis (GE), the appearance of cholera and cases of viral hepatitis.

According to Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) health officials, 210 cases of GE were reported from the city limits till the end of last month. "We have not seen any cholera cases this year. Even if hospitals have reported stray cases, they may not have been confirmed through virology tests," said L.T. Gayathri, BBMP Chief Health Officer.

Cholera cases

However, Victoria Hospital authorities have a different story to tell. They have confirmed five cases of cholera that have been referred to the Epidemic Diseases (Isolation) Hospital. There have, however, been no cholera fatalities.

Gastroenteritis is the major health threat at present. Victoria Hospital authorities say that 12 patients with GE were treated at the hospital this month while 28 patients received treatment last month. Most of the GE cases received in Victoria Hospital are of a serious nature with patients coming in with acute dehydration and subsequent hypotension (low blood pressure). "Many of them are referred to the hospital from various centres from in and around the city when their condition becomes really bad and if they are not given adequate fluids and re-hydrated immediately, there are chances of that some of them might have renal failure," said Vasantha Kamath, Head of the Department of Medicine at Victoria Hospital.

In M.S. Ramaiah Hospital, 10 cases of cholera were reported while in the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health, one or two children with GE are being treated everyday. These cases were of a mild nature and most often were treated as out-patients, M.L. Siddaraju, Director of the Institute, said.

Food and water contamination is the major cause for the increased number of GE, cholera and Viral Hepatitis cases being reported in the city, says Dr. Vasantha Kamath.

"There are also two to three admissions for Hepatitis A every week but they are not of a serious nature. With the intermittent rains, water-borne diseases spread rapidly as there is faeco-oral contamination because of accumulation of dirty water. Moreover, unavailability of clean drinking water during the summer months is also one of the causes for these diseases to spread," Dr. Vasantha said.

According to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, in all, 20,524 cases of GE were detected last year. This year till February, 4,313 cases of GE and 526 Viral Hepatitis cases and three cholera cases were detected in the State.

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