Over 53,000 ill with diarrhoea as diseases spread
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
The death toll due to drowning, disease and snakebite during the flooding shot up to 443 with 38 more deaths reported in the last 24 hours to Tuesday morning, as millions of people continued to live in abject misery in the flood-affected areas with 53,307 people admitted to hospitals with diarrhoea, reports UNB.
The monsoon floods have affected over 10.3 million people in 39 flooded districts since July 30. A total of 232,000 people took shelter in 1,004 relief camps, having been displaced from their homes.
However, Health Adviser Matiur Rahman and Disaster Management Adviser Tapan Chowdhury released two different figures of the flood-related casualties at a joint press conference at the PID (Tuesday). Matiur said 443 people so far died while Tapan downsized the figure to 338.
When asked whether the gap could be blamed on a lack of coordination, the Health Adviser advised reporters to note down his ministry's figure as they collected the number of deaths from hospitals across the country. Of the 443 deaths, 394 occurred from drowning, 27 from snakebite, 15 from diarrhoea and seven from respiratory complications.
Meanwhile, with the water levels of major rivers receding, water-borne and airborne bacteria and viruses were infecting thousands
of people in the aftermath of the floods, worst in a decade since the 1998 deluge.
Health Adviser Matiur Rahman told the press briefing that 53,307 people were admitted to hospitals with diarrhoea. A total of 3,207 medical teams and 28 mobile hospitals are treating the patients round-the-clock.
The Adviser, however, would not describe the diarrhoea situation as in an epidemic form, claiming that it is under control and the government has adequate medicines to treat the patients.
"There is nothing to be scared of. It is very easy to treat diarrhoea patients," he said, adding that no diarrhoea patient has died after getting admitted to hospitals.
The Adviser of the caretaker government said every year about 2.0 million (20 lakh) people get infected with diarrhoea, and during July-August period, about 100 thousand to 150 thousand people contracted the disease. In the 1998 floods, he said, 190,038 people were attacked by diarrhoea in August and 159 died.
The monsoon floods have affected over 10.3 million people in 39 flooded districts since July 30. A total of 232,000 people took shelter in 1,004 relief camps, having been displaced from their homes.
However, Health Adviser Matiur Rahman and Disaster Management Adviser Tapan Chowdhury released two different figures of the flood-related casualties at a joint press conference at the PID (Tuesday). Matiur said 443 people so far died while Tapan downsized the figure to 338.
When asked whether the gap could be blamed on a lack of coordination, the Health Adviser advised reporters to note down his ministry's figure as they collected the number of deaths from hospitals across the country. Of the 443 deaths, 394 occurred from drowning, 27 from snakebite, 15 from diarrhoea and seven from respiratory complications.
Meanwhile, with the water levels of major rivers receding, water-borne and airborne bacteria and viruses were infecting thousands
of people in the aftermath of the floods, worst in a decade since the 1998 deluge.
Health Adviser Matiur Rahman told the press briefing that 53,307 people were admitted to hospitals with diarrhoea. A total of 3,207 medical teams and 28 mobile hospitals are treating the patients round-the-clock.
The Adviser, however, would not describe the diarrhoea situation as in an epidemic form, claiming that it is under control and the government has adequate medicines to treat the patients.
"There is nothing to be scared of. It is very easy to treat diarrhoea patients," he said, adding that no diarrhoea patient has died after getting admitted to hospitals.
The Adviser of the caretaker government said every year about 2.0 million (20 lakh) people get infected with diarrhoea, and during July-August period, about 100 thousand to 150 thousand people contracted the disease. In the 1998 floods, he said, 190,038 people were attacked by diarrhoea in August and 159 died.