Civic hospitals see 4,000 fever cases

The civic hospitals have registered 4,000 cases of fever in April. Official figures show that the hospitals have got 200 more fever cases this April as compared to last year. Extremely hot and dry weather conditions, coupled with the presence of a virus, are making Mumbaikars susceptible to the infection, say doctors.
Rajul Patel, chairman of the BMC’s health committee, said, “On a daily basis, 130-140 people come to our hospitals’ outpatient department.”

Out of the 4,000, only 35 are malaria. Doctors say that the sudden spurt in fever cases is because of the fluctuating temperatures.
“Usually, viruses become more active when the season changes. Apart from viral fever cases, those of upper respiratory infections are typical with people having complaints of cough, cold, tonsillitis, nosebleed etc,” said Dr Tanu Singhal, infectious disease expert, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital.

Doctors attribute this pattern to the erratic temperatures and unhygienic eating habits, and have advised eating out less often, washing vegetables and fruits before eating, drinking safe water and not gulping cold drinks or ice creams to beat the heat.

According to the city doctors, people need to drink lot of water to stay hydrated or there can be cases of dehydration.