HYDERABAD: The "Incidences of malaria, typhoid, diarrhea, and dengue fever, sun stroke and others diseases are on the rise with the progress of summer season."
Eminent child specialist and pediatrician of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) Jamshoro Dr. Salma Shaikh pointed it out while talking to this scribe here on Saturday.
She said that the diseases could be prevented with precautionary measures and advised the people to use water after extracting it from deep underground as subsoil water was mostly contaminated. "Besides, boiled water should be used for drinking and hygiene should be maintained in food and lifestyles," she stressed.
Dr. Salma Shaikh said that the number of the patients, suffering from viral and bacterial diseases, like diarrhea, scabies, bronchitis, asthma, malaria, typhoid, dengue fever have been on rise due to the hot summer season.
The pediatrician said that contaminated water and unhygienic food was also causing typhoid, adding that the typhoid virus could live in ice-cream. "Besides, an eye-ailment, called conjunctivitis, is also increasing among people," she added.
She informed that cholera is one of the extremely virulent infections and it is caused by a bacterium known as Vibrio Cholera, which thrives in areas where proper environmental management is scarce.
She said that the untreated sewage, contaminated water and insufficient sanitation do not discourage the rapid growth of this pathogen.
The health expert said that typical at-risk countries are those where basic infrastructure is not available and essential requirements for clean water and appropriate hygiene are not met.
Person to person transmission is rare and the frequent cause for invasion of the pathogen is coming in direct contact with bathing- in, drinking, cooking in or handling water saturated with impurities and contamination. Eating raw or undercooked, seafood such as shellfish is also a known source of cholera, she said.
She said that symptoms encountered include an abnormal production of watery diarrhea and vomiting which instantly dehydrates the body and deprives it of vital fluids, which if not replaced almost immediately, can result in death.
Dr. Salma suggested that patients must undergo either intravenous fluid replacement or oral rehydration, which is, supplying pre-packaged solutions of dissolved salts and minerals to be injected or otherwise drunk in large amounts.
She said that with the proper treatment, the fatality rate should stay below 1 percent.
Two vaccines are available against cholera but considering the brief and incomplete immunity they provide, the vaccines are not licensed in most countries, Dr. Salma added.
The pediatrician said that Pakistan has not eluded brutal outbreaks of cholera and the months of May to July are peppered with frequent cases of the disease and prevalent cholera occurs in annual epidemic waves during the dry season, especially in the rural areas of Pakistan, she added.
She said that in summer season the risk of a heat stroke, cramps and exhaustion is high if physical activities are pursued or exposure to the elements is prolonged and heat sickness is fast acting and dangerous.
She said that in some cases, it can induce a coma and even lead to death. The heat cramps are not dangerous but heat strokes can be life threatening. It is fatal 50 percent of the time and requires urgent medical care, she added.
Dr. Salma Shaikh said that people at risk of heat-related illnesses are the elderly (65 and above) and weak with low levels of fluid in their bodies but overweight people and those with heart, kidney, lung problems or high blood pressure are also at risk, she added.
She said that urban populations are at a higher risk because concrete and asphalt retain and give off heat and the body cools itself by sweating.
She said that under some conditions, sweating is not enough and very high temperatures may damage the brain or other vital organs but all activity should be undertaken in order to aid the body's cooling mechanisms.
She said that the danger of dehydration becomes acute in the summer months and dehydration is extremely dangerous as it affects our kidney function, and is also bad for skin, which shrivels up like dry leaves. Water is one of the most important nutrients in our body, she added.
Dr. Salma suggested to t avoid caffeinated beverages and alcohol, both contain substances that will cause dehydration, avoid carbonated beverages because the carbonation may cause bloating or a feeling of fullness and prevent adequate consumption of fluids, wear light coloured, absorbable, loose fitting clothes and stay in cool, shaded areas and protect your skin with sun-block whenever possible, the pediatrician said.
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