The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Caution against jaundice outbreak

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 24, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Caution against jaundice outbreak

HYDERABAD: Even as the monsoon turned active after a long gap, noted gastroenterologist D. Nageshwar Reddy cautioned people to take precautions as an epidemic of jaundice hits the city almost every year in rainy season.

Jaundice is caused by different strains of Hepatitis virus, with ‘A’ and ‘E’ viruses ordinarily occurring in epidemic forms. Both the strains spread through food and water contamination. Hepatitis ‘A’ is seen mostly in children. Adults get infected by Hepatitis ‘E’. He told The Hindu that while an increase in jaundice in the endemic form was being witnessed, “we expect an epidemic once the rains come”.

Listing out the precautions, he said drinking water should be boiled or filtered to ensure that there was no sewage contamination. The other don’ts suggested by Dr. Reddy include avoiding eating cut fruits and salads, “dahi wadas and chat foods like bhelpuri and paani puri.” Uncovered sweets were also a source of contamination, he said. Washing hands with soap before eating food was a must as the virus ‘hides’ under the nails.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh