MONSOON OUTBREAK: Gastro, first cholera case

  The spurt in gastroenteritis cases this monsoon has worsened with the city registering its first case of cholera—the deadly form of diarrhoea. 

    Arshad Ansari, a four-year-old boy from Bainganwadi slum in Govandi, has tested positive for cholera. State-run J J Hospital first admitted Arshad's eight-month-old brother on Monday, as he was suffering from severe loose motions and dehydration. A day later, his six-year-old sister was admitted over similar symptoms. On Wednesday, Arshad and his other brother, aged four and three, were also admitted. Stool samples of all the four siblings were sent for testing; only Arshad tested positive for cholera. 
    "The child tested positive not only in the hanging drop test, but also in the ELISA test, which confirmed cholera," said Dr T P Lahane, dean, J J Hospital. 
    "We had all eaten only rice on Sunday," said Saista Khatun, Arshad's mother. "All my children fell ill after Sunday, but nothing happened to my husband and me," she said and pointed out that the family got their water supply from a motor system in their area, for which they paid Rs 150 per month. "We earn only enough to afford three meals a day," said Saista, who admitted that none of her children go to school. 
    BMC denied any awareness of the case. "We haven't received a report yet about the case of cholera. If there has been a confirmed case, then it is the first in the city this monsoon," said Manisha Mhaiskar, additional municipal commissioner. 
    As in the case of the Ansari family, there has been a sudden outbreak of gastroenteritis cases in the city. While cholera is a severe form of gastroenteritis, south Mumbai doctors said that gastroenteritis is especially rampant in the Byculla, Dongri and Mumbai Central belt. 
    "Out of 20 patients who had to be admitted due to severe loose motions, 18 said they had not eaten outside food," said Dr Altaf Patel, who consults in Jaslok Hospital and has a private clinic in south Mumbai. "About 50-60% of the patients have gastroenteritis so severe that they are also suffering from renal failure." Dr Patel said intestines absorb sodium from water and pump it into the blood. But gastroenteritis causes inflammation of intestines, which reverses the process and causes a septicemic shock, which, in turn, can cause kidney failure. 
    "We have been getting a high number of gastroenteritis cases, several of whom have to be admitted to the ICU because of dehydration or low blood pressure," said a doctor from the medicine department of Nair Hospital. A source from BMC's hydraulic department said that samples from the E-Ward have shown that water in certain areas is unfit for consumption. 
    "We have been getting about 100 gastroenteritis patients everyday over the past few days, out of which, about five were admitted due to dehydration and other complications. As of now, the hospital has 20 patients admitted," Dr Lahane said. 
The other regulars MALARIA LOSES ITS STING Malaria has been brought under control this year, BMC recently claimed. There has been more than 48% reduction in hospital admissions over malaria this July compared with the corresponding period last year. "After last year, we had created an extra 80-bedded ward for monsoon-related diseases for this year. But barely eight beds are occupied at any given point in time as the situation is much better on the malaria front. Patients themselves come on time, which makes treatment easier for us," said Dr A R Pazare, head of medicine department at KEM Hospital. 5 LEPTOSPIROSIS DEATHS SO FAR While there have been a total of five deaths due to leptospirosis since the start of monsoon, city doctors said that the numbers are still lower than those of the previous year. In July 2010, 67 Mumbaikars were admitted to civic hospitals due to leptospirosis and seven succumbed to the disease; this July, 30 patients were admitted to hospitals. Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection caused by the leptospira bacteria, which spreads through water contaminated with the urine of rats and dogs, doctors say that there hasn't been too much water-logging this time for the bacteria to multiply. "Barring the past few days, when Mumbai experienced excessive rainfall, there have been few reports of waterlogging this year. This may be one of the reasons behind reduced leptospira bacteria," said a civic official.

DEADLY CONDITION: 
Arshad (4) tested positive for cholera