While doctors in the city say they have been flooded with cases of gastroenteritis and acute diarrhoea over the past couple of weeks, the health and sanitation wing of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Cor-poration says it has come across only 92 cases in the last one week. Last year, during the same time, 779 cases were detected, it is reported. “We got 92 cases of acute diarrhoea last week. Compared to last year, the number of cases is much less due to constant IEC activities, sanitation drive in vulnerable and slum areas, and so on,” claimed Dr Shalini Devi, chief medical officer, GHMC.
Dr S. Vijay Mohan, general physician from Care Hospital, has a different story to tell. Dr Mohan explained: “At least 15-20 gastroenteritis cases come to us every week. The number of cases has definitely gone up in recent days. Besides acute diarrhoea, jaundice cases are also on the rise.” Dr Mohan blamed it on uncleared garbage and unregulated street-side vendors.
He said: “I have come across eateries right next to municipal bins. A lot of small ‘bandis’ and eateries have also come up in the city this festival season, which often prepares food in an unhygienic way, not to mention the poor quality of drinking water especially due to contamination. The GHMC should keep a check on the quality of small eateries.” Dr B. Balaji, professor of medicine at Fever Hospital, Nallakunta, Hyderabad, also reported an increase in diarrhoea and malaria cases.
Dr Balaji said: “We are daily getting quite a number of acute diarrhoea cases, besides a rise in vector borne ailments such as malaria. Usually, every year in this season there is s an increase of about 10-15 per cent, but this time there seems an increase of 25-30 per cent.