Mumbai: Civic hospitals start OPD for rain-related ills

With an aim to conduct early treatment of monsoon-related illness, the civic-run hospitals have started a ‘fever Out Patient Department (OPD)’ in their premises. While waterborne diseases increase in large numbers during the monsoon season, the civic authority starts fever OPD every monsoon season. 

Speaking about the OPD and cases treated so far, Dr Avinash Supe, director of municipal hospitals and Dean of KEM Hospital, said, “The civic body started this concept of opening fever OPD a few years ago looking at the increase in a number of cases because of monsoon-related illnesses. Every year from mid-June we start the OPD in all the civic-run hospitals across the city. Some patients have started visiting the OPD with monsoon-related illness, but the number is still low.”

He added, “After the heavy rainfall, a few weeks later more and more patients come for a medical check-up. There is no specific waterborne disease which is diagnosed or treated in a larger number. We get patients related to all kind of water-borne disease.”

So far, in June, BMC has screened 10 fever cases in areas where leptospirosis cases and death had occurred.