Provincial Health Department has advised the public to take precautionary measures against the spread of monsoon-related diseases such as cholera, rat fever, jaundice, dysentery, dengue fever, skin infections and viral fever.
Sources in the department told Business Recorder, here on Saturday that dengue fever was caused by the Albo virus spread by a species of mosquito, which laid its eggs on the surface of clean water and multiplied at a fast rate. Symptoms of dengue fever included high ever with severe headache, lack of appetite, pain in the eyes and vomiting. The symptoms would manifest in 10 days. Precautionary measures include good sanitation and preventing water from stagnating in the surroundings of the household.
The department also advised the public that unused cooking vessels, tyres, plastic bags and other articles should not be left in the open so as to prevent water from collecting in them. The public has also been advised that drinking water should be boiled. Wells and overhead tanks should be covered with nylon nets. Air pipes of septic tanks should be covered with nylon nets to prevent the spread of diseases, the sources said.
Moreover, while talking to this scribe, health professionals told this scribe that the diseases associated with monsoon are malaria, jaundice, gastrointestinal infections like typhoid and cholera. Apart from these, viral infections like cold and cough also make their presence felt. Puddles of water formed due to rain become breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which spread diseases like malaria and dengue fever, they said.
According to them, pollution of drinking water during monsoon is very common. It is very necessary to drink clean and pure water when water borne monsoon diseases like diarrhea and gastrointestinal infections threaten us. Walking in dirty water during rainy season leads to numerous fungal infections, which affect toes and nails. Diabetic patients have to take a special care about their feet; hence they must abstain from walking in dirty water.
They further said that monsoon brings with it welcome relief from the heat, and leaves behind a host of illnesses and diseases, some of which can be life threatening. Children are the most susceptible to these diseases. Many diseases like cholera are spread through feces, which is why it is essential to drink boiled water in the monsoon. The children must be dressed up appropriately in the monsoon to avoid catching not just diseases, they added. They also asked the parents to prevent their children from biting their nails as this will cause them to ingest any infection that may be on their hands. Uncooked food like 'salads' outside the home must be avoided during the monsoon, they said.