BOMBAY, 12 August 2005 — The Maharashtra government declared an outbreak of epidemic in Bombay and neighboring towns of Kalyan and Thane as the state Health Minister Vimla Munda said that the government is taking all necessary precautions to control the epidemic
The minister assured that all government run hospitals and dispensaries had adequate supplies of medicines and that the government would not be found lagging in any aspect.
Health officials yesterday declared an outbreak of water-borne leptospirosis in Bombay and surrounding areas hit by record monsoon rains as the disease death toll rose to 66.
Leptospirosis claimed most of the lives along with gastroenteritis, and nearly 2,500 people were being treated in hospitals in Bombay for the two diseases and others including cholera and dengue fever.
“We are stating that this is an outbreak of leptospirosis, but it is not an epidemic,” said R.R. Katti, a senior Maharashtra state health services official. He said the outbreak was “of concern” but under control.
People had fears of the outbreak of the epidemic, particularly leptospirosis after the torrential rain and floods and the stagnated flood waters and rotten garbage becoming the breeding ground for various diseases.
Doctors have advised precaution and said that anyone complaining of fever and vomiting should immediately consult nearby doctor. The leptospirosis scare has caused panic, though the government stated that people should not panic and visit the hospital for treatment and also assured that there was no shortfall of medicines required to treat the diseases.
The state government has also sounded alert from the disease spreading to the other flood-affected districts of Pune, Sholapur, Kolhapur and Sangli.
At least 37 people have died in Bombay in the last eight to 10 days and another 29 have died in the adjoining district of Kalyan. The deaths come after at least 1,071 people were killed in flooding in the area after the rains.
“Bombay has witnessed incidents of leptospirosis in 2000-2001, but this time the number of cases reported are higher, hence the need to declare it an outbreak,” Katti said.
Leptospirosis is caused by exposure to water contaminated with animal urine, and its symptoms include high fever and vomiting. It can be treated with antibiotics.
The state government yesterday ordered private clinics to report every case of leptospirosis for monitoring and treatment purposes, Katti said.
“I have had fever for two days now and it has just not gone... I don’t know exactly what is wrong at this stage,” said Feroze Hussain, 32, a slum dweller at Phanaswadi in Bombay’s western suburb.
Bombay’s Municipal Commissioner Johnny Joseph said the situation was being monitored across the city and there was “no cause for panic”.
Since the flooding, the state administration and the Red Cross have been running medical camps, doling out antibiotics and other drugs to people hit by the floods.
Environmentalists and urban planners have blamed the widespread flooding in Bombay on poor drainage caused by unchecked development that has blocked water exits.
The devastation caused by the flooding which paralyzed the city has provoked anger in Bombay, with residents saying the flooding was a “disaster waiting to happen.” Many accuse state politicians of being in league with developers, allowing them to build on wetlands and harming the city’s natural drainage system.
