BARISHAL, Apr 10: With the temperature rising since March, the diarrhoeal disease has been turning alarming in Barishal region.
According to hospital sources, in the last two months of the winter, about 10,500 diarrhoea patients including women and children were admitted to government hospitals.
Despite the abnormal temperature, dengue did not get eradicated. In 2024, about 9,000 dengue patients were admitted to hospitals while 64 died.
In the last three months of the current year, around 500 dengue patients were admitted to hospitals. Since the beginning of this month, the dengue patients have been increasing. At least 15 dengue patients are admitted to different government hospitals daily.
In November and December, last year about 9,500 diarrhoea patients were admitted to government hospitals. In the last four months of this year, the number of admitted patients exceeded 21,000 figure.
Despite significant improvement in pure drinking water and sanitation management, the diarrhoea disease has not been prevented. In this case, doctors blamed low quality but tasty footpath food.
There are thousands of approved and unapproved footpath shops in the Barishal City Corporation area. These are not under effective monitoring of the local administration, the Safe Food Authority, and the Department of Health (DoH).
DoH's Director Shyamol Krishna Mandal said, there is no alternative to public awareness making resilient activities by local government institutions for preventing dengue menace.
According to DoH-Barishal Divisional office, in the last seven days, about 3,000 diarrhoea patients were admitted to government hospitals. In January and February about 10,000 diarrhoea patients were admitted to hospitals. But in March, the toll stood at about 11,000. In total, about 22,000 diarrhoea patients were admitted to government hospitals in the first three months of the year. No death was reported in government hospitals, he added.
He further said, there is a deficit of IV saline supply in Barishal. Yet a request has been made to the divisional director of DoH for increasing the saline supply.
According to the latest information, there are stocks of about 13,000 saline of 1000cc and 7,500 bags of IV saline. But stocks of oral saline, antibiotic capsule, and metronidazole tablet are adequate.
According to the DoH sources, in November and December, last year about 2,500 patients of cold disease and pneumonia were admitted to government hospitals, and of them, five died. In the first two months of the current year, more than 3,500 were admitted with cold diseases, and three more died.
In February, pneumonia patient and 21-day baby Shahinur Begum died in Lalmohan Hospital.
