Staff Reporter: The number of diarrhea patients admitted to Mohakhali Hospital, International Center for Diarrhea Research, Bangladesh (ICDDRB) is not decreasing. As many as 7 diarrhea patients were admitted till one o’clock on Tuesday. Today, 710 people have been admitted till one o’clock on Wednesday.
The head of the hospital Baharul Alam gave this information in the first light this afternoon. He said more than 1,300 patients have been admitted to the hospital every day since March 21. The number of patients is increasing day by day. In today’s trend of patient admissions, the number may exceed 1,400.
Outbreaks of diarrhea have been reported in different parts of the country, including the capital Dhaka, for the past two weeks. According to the Department of Health’s Health Emergency Operations Center and Control Room, more than 4.5 million people across the country have contracted diarrhea in the first three months of the year (January to March). Of these, ICDDRB’s Mohakhali Hospital has treated more than 55,000 patients.
An ICDDRB source had earlier told that 23 percent of patients coming to their hospital were suffering from severe diarrhea or cholera.
Concerned people say that water comes out of the body of cholera patients quickly. The eye goes into the hole. The tongue dries up. The patient becomes numb. The elasticity of the skin is gone. In other words, when the pinch is given, the skin becomes wrinkled and does not return to normal in a short time. If these symptoms occur, the patient should be admitted to the hospital immediately. These patients are at risk of death due to dehydration.
As seen in the last three months, the highest number of diarrhea cases has been reported in the Dhaka division. 1 lakh 59 thousand 246 people have been affected in this section. The least affected area in the Barisal division. The number of victims is 5 thousand 415. In eight divisions, the number of diarrhea cases in the Mymensingh and the Rangpur divisions decreased in March as compared to February. The number of victims has increased in all other departments.
