Mumbai, Aug 15, 2005
Sunday Mail
THE death toll from water-borne diseases in India's
commercial capital Mumbai and surrounding regions
after floods brought by record monsoon rains has risen
to 179, officials said ovenight.
But outbreaks of deadly leptospirosis, gastroentiritis,
dengue fever, cholera and jaundice, which have forced
more than 7700 people to seek hospital treatment,
appeared to be slowing.
"We saw a period where the 'acute' leptospirosis
cases rose sharply. Now the intensity and incidence
of water-borne cases is slowly diminishing,"
Mumbai municipal commissioner Johnny Joseph said.
The illnesses have been incubating since the incessant
rains ended August 2. The rains were the worst in
living memory, killing 1071, turning streets into
rivers and leaving piles of garbage and rotting animal
carcasses.
Many people had waded through neck-deep water to
reach safety or get supplies during the floods, and
the disease death toll in Mumbai stood at 107 on Sunday
and 72 in the surrounding regions, Joseph said.
"We expect the number of cases to reduce. Those
discharged from hospitals will continue with the requisite
antibiotics course to prevent recurrence of the ailment,"
R. Katti, director of health surveillance in Maharashtra
state.
He added that 1250 medical teams were continuing
to work at relief camps, as well as hold door-to-door
visits in the worst-hit areas of the western state,
whose capital is Mumbai.
India's ruling national Congress party president
Sonia Gandhi visited western regions of Maharashtra
and Mumbai late Saturday to review relief work.
Environmentalists and urban planners blamed the widespread
flooding in Mumbai on poor drainage caused by rampant
unscrupulous development that blocked water exits.
Leptospirosis is caused by exposure to water contaminated
with animal urine and symptoms include high fever
and vomiting.
