Reza Mahmud :
The number of diarrhoea patients crossed 1300 mark in the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (Icddr,b) Hospital in the last two days which made the public health experts anxious.
Experts blamed polluted water supplied by Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA) for the sudden and serious outbreak of the disease.
Meanwhile DWASA has asked the city dwellers to boil water before they drink it.
Sources said, more than 1300 patients went to the hospitals in the last two days. But many of those failed to get admission due to shortages of beds.
Officials from the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (Icddr,b) Hospital said that they could not admit all of them due to lack of sufficient beds against the sudden surge of the diarrhoea infection.
Meanwhile, the Icddr,b installed several tents outside for accommodating outnumbered patients, officials said.
“The outbreak of the waterborne disease began in the mid-March. The situation is deteriorating constantly. About 1200 patients were admitted in the past several days, but the number was 1383 in the 24 hours till Monday noon and 1379 during the same period till Tuesday noon,” AKM Tariful Islam Khan, Communication Manager of icddr,b told The New Nation on Wednesday.
At the latest data, 961 people were admitted in the hospital on the first hours on Wednesday, he said.
The official said that several thousand patients are rushing to hospitals while many of them returned home in frustration after failed of getting a seat in the hospital.
When contacted, Professor Dr. M. Muzaherul Huq told The New Nation on Wednesday, “The water supplied by Wasa is behind the sudden surge of the diarrhoea. People drink juice in and outside home prepared with polluted water is the big reason on the outbreak of the waterborne disease.”
“People should drink and prepare Iftary and Sahri items and baby foods and drinks with safe water,” he suggested.
Everyone should wash everything before taking their meals and drinks with safe water, the professor said.
Meanwhile, Engineer Taqsem A Khan, the Managing Director of the DWASA also asked all to drink water after boiling it.
“”Ninety-five percent of water supplied by WASA is pure but water becomes contaminated in five to eight percent areas due to leaks in old pipelines. We repair those pipes just after getting complaints. When a part of a pipeline leaks, contaminated water enters,” he said in a function recently.
The MD of the WASA said water becomes contaminated in three ways – at the source, in supply line and in overhead tanks and water reservoirs of households.
“As we do not know which five percent water is contaminated, we suggest that everyone boil the supplied water before drinking,” Taqsem said.”
