NMC: 396 cases of gastro, 192 of heatstroke in April

Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) seems to have managed patients of heatwave very well, but it could not control people’s eating and drinking habits due to which the city recorded as many as 396 cases of gastro in the month of April.
This year, the city registered 192 names of patients who suffered from heatwave. However, the best part is that no deaths were reported due to heatwave or gastro.
NMC’s health officer Dr Savita Kamdar told TOI that of the 396 gastro patients, only 47 were treated through hospitalization and the remaining were treated successfully on OPD basis.The NMC health department has divided the gastro cases further into diarrhoea, enteritis, gastritis and colitis.
On Friday, the NMC isolation hospital had an OPD of 114 patients of which 56 were suffering from diarrhoea, 5 from colitis, 15 from enteritis and 12 from gastritis. “People drink unhygienic lemon juice, sugar cane juice, eat street food etc and fall sick. The problem is not due to water contamination,” she added.
Dr Kamdar said that these patients are from all over the city. “In fact, there are some patients from nearby towns like Katol. But since they come in an emergency situation, they are not refused treatment,” said Dr Kamdar.
The NMC’s 64 hospitals, the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH) and private hospitals have so far collectively treated 192 cases of heatstroke. Of these, only five patients were hospitalized, two each at IGGMCH and private hospitals and one at GMCH. All the others have been treated on an OPD basis.
NMC’s nodal officer Dr Manjusha Mathapati told TOI that the civic body has made very good arrangements to prevent cases of heatstroke. Apart from 392 water kiosks and 329 cold shelters in temples and mosques, all the gardens, including NIT’s 50 and NMC’s 113, are being kept open the entire day to provide shade and water to people.
“NGOs are helping us in this work. This year, there have been no deaths due to heatstroke. NMC has been successfully implementing the heat management plan for the last two years. This year, 24 deaths due to heatstroke have been reported across India. The figure includes two from Maharashtra,” she said.
Through its health department, staff from the NMC has been creating awareness about the heatwave through programmes, posters and stickers at public places. “People have become aware. They have started carrying a water bottle whenever they go out. The overall adaptability to heat is also increasing,” said doctors at the NMC.