Cold-Related Diseases: 4,000 fall ill in 24 hours

With the beginning of the second cold wave, people, mostly children and the elderly, are suffering from various cold-related diseases. 

Over 4,000 people were receiving treatment in different government hospitals across the country in 24 hours till 8:00am yesterday, according to the control room of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS)

Most of them took medical services from outdoor departments of the hospitals, while some of them were admitted, said Dr Ayesha Akther, assistant director of the DGHS Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room.

The diseases include acute respiratory infection (ARI), pneumonia, asthma, diarrhoea and jaundice, she told The Daily Star yesterday.

So far this winter, 51 people died due to different cold-related diseases across the country since November last year. Of them, 17 were children, the DGHS official said.

Besides, over 3 lakh people have received treatment from different government hospitals across the country since last November, she informed.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Meteorological Department (Met) in its weather forecast yesterday said the intensity of cold may slightly deacrease today.

“A mild cold wave is sweeping over Rangpur division and the regions of Rajshahi, Jashore, Chuadanga and Tangail. It may abate,” the Met weather bulletin said yesterday.

Light rain may occur at some places of Rangpur, Rajshahi, Dhaka, Khulna, Mymensingh and Sylhet divisions, while moderate to thick fog may occur over the country from midnight till morning, the weather forecast said.

Yesterday, the country’s lowest temperature was recorded as 6.8 degrees Celsius in Tentulia of Panchagrah, while the highest was 27.3 at Teknaf of Cox’s Bazar.

Our correspondents from different districts reports on disruption of public lives and communications due to the cold and thick fog.

In Tangail, poor visibility caused by dense fog forced hundreds of passengers and transport workers to suffer as a 20-kilometer-long tailback formed on the Dhaka-Tangail highway, which is considered the gateway to 26 districts, since Tuesday night

Vehicular movement was suspended on the Bangabandhu Multipurpose Bridge for 37 minutes from 4:28am yesterday due to poor visibility, according to Traffic Control Room of the Bridge. 

Hundreds of vehicles were trapped from Kodim Dhalla area of Mirzapur upazila to Ashekpur Bypass area in Tangail Sadar upazila since Tuesday midnight.

“I have been trapped here since 8:30am and the vehicles could not move even few meters in one hour,” said Anwar Hossain, driver of a North Bengal bound goods-laden truck, who talked to the correspondent at Jamurki area in Mirzapur                       upazila.

Contacted, Mirzapur’s traffic inspector Sajedul Islam said traffic movement became normal on the highway yesterday noon.

In Rangpur, at least 21 people, mostly women, elderly men and children, died at different hospitals in Rangpur Division after being infected with cold-related diseases and burn injuries since November last year.

Shamsun Nahar, 33, of Pathanpara village in Dinajpur’s Khansama upazila, sustained burn injuries while trying to keep warm from a fire on December 22. She succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday at Rangpur Medical College Hospital.

Besides, over 22,000 people took treatment in different government hospitals since November last year, said Dr Mostafa Khaled Masud, director of Rangpur divisional health office.

The health department has formed 722 medical teams in eight districts in the division to deal with the situation, he informed.

In Lalmonirhat, biting cold coupled with persistent dense fog have paralysed public lives both in the urban and rural areas of five upazilas in the district.

“As we have no warm clothes and no ability to purchase them, me and my three children have been suffering from the chilling cold,” said Radha Rani, 38, of Lalmonirhat.

However, the district’s Deputy Commissioner Abu Jafor said the district administration has so far distributed 34,000 pieces of warm clothes to the people in five upazilas.