About 11,331 people fell victim to diarrhoea in Bangladesh since July 30 with 2,524 admitted to hospitals in 24 hours by Monday morning, said Health Directorate under the Health Ministry.
Hospitals in the capital Dhaka are struggling to cope with the steep rise in number of patients suffering from diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases in last few days.
Diarrhoea situation in other flood-affected areas is also alarming, local newspaper The Daily Star reported Tuesday, quoting doctors.
The number of diarrhoea patients admitted to the International Center for Diarrhoea Disease and Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), Dhaka was 615 in 24 hours by Sunday midnight while another 315 patients were admitted by Monday noon.
The number rose sharply as usually 180 to 220 patients suffering from water-borne diseases get admitted to the hospital everyday.
But ICDDR,B and Health Directorate could not give any account of death caused by diarrhoea.
The survival rate of the diarrhoea patients is 99 percent and those who die usually have other complications, said the doctors.
More and more diarrhoea patients thronged ICDDR,B compelling the authorities to employ more doctors and staffs to cope with the situation.
ICDDR,B authorities grappled with the pressure as over 200 seats arranged at the hospital's parking lot for treating the additional patients were not enough. They started arranging more space for them in the parking lot to tackle the situation.
Besides, a large number of children suffering from fever, pneumonia and skin diseases were rushed to hospitals in Dhaka.
Dr Monir Hossain, resident physician of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), said the number of child patients suffering from various water-borne diseases rose sharply as about 300 to 400 children get admitted to DMCH everyday.
He cautioned the number of patients suffering from diarrhoea and skin diseases would increase after floods.
Doctors cited consumption of contaminated food and water in the flood-affected areas as the main reasons of the outbreak of the disease. They said people in flood-affected areas must boil water or use water-purifying tablets before drinking to prevent the disease.
Source: Xinhua
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