Experts caution public about water and vector-borne diseases

Hyderabad: With the incessant rains causing large-scale flooding and waterlogging in several areas across the state, health care experts cautioned about the increased risk of the spread in water and vector-borne diseases. Severe rains battered Hyderabad and several other districts in Telangana on Tuesday, which led to overflowing reservoirs and rivers, including heavy water logging in many places.

The torrential rains invariably caused expansion in the number of habitats of vectors like mosquitoes. The standing water from these rains tends to create breeding sites for mosquitoes. As a result, there is always a chance of the population dwelling nearby these breeding grounds getting exposed to Aedes Aegypti and Anopheles mosquitoes, which cause dengue and malaria respectively.

There is also an increased risk of people infecting water-borne diseases contracted through direct contact with polluted waters, such as wound infections, dermatitis, and conjunctivitis, and ear, nose and throat infections. Also, diarrheal diseases, viral fevers, cold, jaundice and typhoid fever are some of the most common ailments that occur when people consume untreated water.

“We urge the general public to ensure they consume only boiled drinking water. This is especially important for families that are directly impacted by flooding during the recent rains. At any cost, they should not consume stale food. The water should be boiled and food should be hot,” advises District Medical and Health Officer (DM&HO), Dr. J Venkati.

The office of the DM&HO, Hyderabad, has printed pamphlets and recorded special voice messages that are being shared across various social media platforms to inform the public on the importance of treating water and visiting the nearest health care facility to access treatment for water and vector-borne ailments.