Let's get one thing straight: the diarrhoeal situation is not frightening, but its incidence at this time of the year is certainly higher than recorded previously. Diarrhoea usually breaks out at the beginning and towards the end of the rainy season. But somehow there is a departure from the pattern as the affliction is noticeable much ahead of the rainy season, at least six weeks too early. Why so? The experts are yet to find an explanation for the early appearance of the water-borne disease; but we think, the precipitation of the malady can be put down to deteriorating sanitary conditions together with acute scarcity of potable water in the city.
Such a view seems borne out by the onrush of patients to the ICDDR,B, mainly from Mirpur area, followed by Badda, Kafrul, Malibagh and Maghbazar in that order. From outside the city the patients are from Tongi and Narayanganj. The capacity of the ICDDR,B, currently handling 29 patients per hour, is obviously stretched. They have pitched tents to cope with the excessive number of patients. The laudable role played by the ICDDR,B is too well-known to bear repetition; suffice it to say though that with greater awareness in the community of the simple rules of preventing and treating diarrhoea could have averted the need for crowding into hospitals.
We reproduce some of the advice that nutritionist and senior ICDDR,B scientist Dr SK Roy has given to the public. First and foremost, boiled or chlorinated water must be used for drinking. Secondly, hand-wash is compulsory before eating. Similarly, utensils must be washed before use. Thirdly, each family must keep some sachets of ORS handy. Last but not least, stale food will have to be avoided at any cost which is usually associated with outside eating that the daily wage earners can hardly avoid. Keeping close tab on the food served by wayside eating places is highly imperative.
The media needs to disseminate the messages while the health and local authorities get a move on to distribute water purification tablets and ORS free of cost in vulnerable areas.