More rain, more waterborne diseases: 8 die of cholera in the state
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by the ingestion of food or water heavily contaminated with the Vibrio cholera bacterium.
Nagpur: For the first time in nearly three years, in the first eight months of 2022, the water-borne disease cholera has claimed the lives of 8 patients across the state. This has also been revealed in the information released under the Right to Information (RTI) to Abhay Kolarkar. Even the wave of swine flu in 2022 has been much worse than in 2019.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by the ingestion of food or water heavily contaminated with the Vibrio cholera bacterium. About 71 cases of cholera were reported in the year 2020 and 281 cases in 2021, but in these two years, there has not been a single death due to it in Maharashtra. In the year 2022, there were about 193 cases of cholera, and eight of them died. The rainy season started after the month of August and it is still raining due to the considerable delay in the withdrawal of monsoon. More cholera cases in the last two months of this year indicate even more deaths.
“Cholera can also be successfully treated with oral rehydration solutions. There has been no death in any way due to this in the last almost two years, But we have lost eight lives this year, which means there is something wrong with the system,” Pediatrician Dr. Sanjay Khartade said.
Even waterborne diarrhea has come down from 7.38 lakh in the year 2019 to 1.9 lakh in 2022
The wave of swine flu was seen once again in 2022, followed by one in 2019, when H1N1 killed 246 people. By the end of July this year, 512 cases of swine flu and 16 deaths were reported in the state. However, till October, Nagpur district alone has seen 60 deaths due to swine flu, which means that the death toll in 2022 may cross 246 deaths in 2019.
When it comes to infectious diseases, Covid-19 still remains the biggest killer. Coronavirus has claimed 6,578 lives in Maharashtra till the month of July this year. But, there is also a great relief. The death toll from Covid in the last almost two years was 92,005 (2021) and 89,521 (2021). That is, the death toll from Covid-19 has come down by more than 93 percent.
There’s some more good news. A comparison of the epidemic years with the year 2022 also shows that the prevalence of diseases such as scrub typhus, lepto, and jaundice has decreased significantly, Perhaps because of the cleanliness people are maintaining even after Covid-19. There has been a significant drop in typhoid patients from 72,800 (2019) to 14,400 (July 2022). Even waterborne diarrhea has come down from 7.38 lakh in the year 2019 to 1.9 lakh in 2022.
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