Gastrointestinal cases down from 777 and 994 last June and July, to 40 and 21 in June, July this year
Doctors say that the absence of street food has also helped to bring down the cases. File pic
Mumbaikars may be badly missing their favourite street foods, but the fact that these joints have been shut for the past four months has come as a blessing. While the city continues to fight the pandemic, no street food and measures like wearing masks, washing hands frequently and using hand sanitisers are turning out to be reasons for over 90 per cent decline in the number of gastrointestinal and hepatitis patients.
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According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in June last year, there were 777 cases of gastrointestinal diseases, including diarrhoea, but this year, the number dropped to 40. Similarly in July last year 994 cases of gastrointestinal diseases were recorded and this year, until July 12, only 21 cases have been reported. A drop was noted in hepatitis A cases as well. While in June last year there were 282 cases, this year only three were recorded in the same month. In July last year there were 270 cases, but this year not a single case has been recorded in the first two weeks of this month.
Doctors feel hand hygiene helps a lot to bring down gastro and hepatitis cases
Speaking to mid-day, Dr Vidya Thakur, medical superintendent of Rajawadi Hospital, said they have barely seen any cases this year. "These diseases usually happen when contaminated water from the sewage finds its way into the food or if an infected person is serving the food. Every year we usually see 10-12 cases of gastro-related diseases and two to four hepatitis cases. This year, we have only seen a couple of cases probably because of improved hand hygiene among people and since most of them are eating at home," she said.
'Hardly any cases'
Confirming the same, Dr Akash Shukla, head of the Gastroenterology Department at KEM hospital said that he noted a 90 per cent reduction in the number of cases. "Earlier, we would treat cases of diarrhoea, colitis, inflammatory bowel disease and hepatitis A on a daily basis. But now there are hardly any cases. People have become more conscious about hygiene due to the spread of COVID-19. Many of these cases involve ingesting excreta and even open defecation has reduced a lot due to the lockdown," he said. Dr Shukla added that this was an opportunity to realise that these cases could be tackled if hand-hygiene was maintained."
Apart from civic-run hospitals, a similar trend was seen in private hospitals as well. Medical director of Holy Family Hospital in Bandra, Dr Neeraj Uttamani, said, "There is roughly a 40 per cent drop in the number of cases of viral diarrhoea, bacterial infections, food poisoning and even typhoid which we usually see during monsoon. Hepatitis A is a water-borne disease and the absence of street food has definitely helped to reduce the numbers."
'Verify the trend'
While Dr Saifee Plumber, head of the Gastroenterology Department of Saifee Hospital in Grant Road said that fewer cases had come in this year, what he feels is that the low numbers could also be due to other reasons and data should be collated from all major hospitals to verify the trend. "During the lockdown there are no street food vendors and theoretically it makes sense to see fewer cases. However, we may not be seeing more cases since people are not willing to come to hospitals for self-limiting diseases that get cured in a few days," he said.
40
No. of cases of gastro diseases reported in June
Gastro cases
Month 2019 2020
June: 777 40
July: 994 21
(Data till July 12)
Hepatitis cases
Month 2019 2020
June: 282 3
July: 270 0
(Data till July 12)
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