New gastro bug in Mumbai?

Mumbaikars from multiple wards have lodged complaints about receiving contaminated water from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC over the past week Some have even said there are wormsThe issue gained attention when filmmaker Hansal Mehta took to social media to complain about a severe stomach infection suspecting the municipal corporationrsquos drinking water as the causeIn response to his tweet the BMC stated that they have not detected any indications of water contamination However as a precautionary measure a water sample has been sent to a laboratory for testingMehta who resides in Bandra West told midday ldquoOn Wednesday I consumed a lot of water without eating anything else I have two filtersmdashone is a water dispenser and the other is an RO filter At some point during the day I started feeling extremely uneasy experiencing severe nausea fatigue and diarrhoeardquoIn May and June 1264 and 1744 gastroenteritis cases respectively were recorded Representation picA doctor from a charitable trustrun private hospital in Bandra reported an increase in patients complaining about stomach infections She stated ldquoWe are now receiving at least two patients a day and have admitted 15 so far Cases of stomach diseases caused by contaminated water are rapidly risingrdquoOn the other hand Dr Nilesh Pavle the medical officer of health MOH for the ward claimed that not a single case of infection due to water contamination had been reported during the monsoon season Once the health department at the ward level becomes aware of a case they conduct surveys in their designated areas to determine if there have been additional instances of infection due to water contamination Dr Pavle explained ldquoEvery day we collect drinking water samples from various areas to ensure quality assurancerdquoVaibhav Vishal a resident of Kohinoor City in Kurla W under L ward shared that a few days ago residents in his building discovered worms in their tap water Health officials from L ward confirmed cases of infection in Kurla W where water contamination was suspected They dispatched staff from their health post to survey approximately 500 surrounding housesA building in Juhu has also been affected by the problem with one resident falling ill for the past week Karan Vyas stated ldquoI have experienced nausea stomach aches and diarrhoea There are several others in my building who are sick with similar symptoms and we strongly believe that contaminated water is the causerdquoIn south and centralIn the south and central parts of Mumbai a doctor from a BMCrun clinic in Lower Parel shared that many patients have visited with gastroenteritis but it is too early to confirm water contamination as the cause She explained ldquoGastroenteritis cases are prevalent during the monsoon but we need to examine the waterrsquos purity to determine the causerdquoFrom July 1 to July 10 Mumbai reported 474 cases of gastroenteritis In May and June there were 1264 and 1744 cases respectively An 82yearold woman named Dolly Khambatta in Tardeo experienced prolonged stomach discomfort in June She suspected water contamination stating ldquoI had symptoms such as body pain weakness and diarrhoea It got to the point where I needed to undergo a colonoscopyrdquoDr Vinay Dhir a gastroenterologist at SL Raheja Hospital explained that in gastroenteritis bacteria enter the intestines and cause inflammation leading to water excretion ldquoHydration is crucialrdquo he emphasisedIn Tardeo Pappu Yadav a resident of a slum noticed worms in the water supplied by BMC for the first time in recent years He said ldquoIt happened a few days agordquoMadhuri Gautam a resident of Sai Garden Chawl in Dharavi sought help at the nearby HBT clinic due to persistent and severe stomach problems over three nights Despite the doctorrsquos recommendation of installing an RO filter Gautam expressed her financial constraints preventing her from affording oneDr B R Kawale MOH of Gward where Dharavi is located stated ldquoAll BMC pipelines are underground which can lead to contamination in case of leaksrdquo He mentioned that they recently received cases of infection due to water contamination but they were contained473Gastroenteritis cases between July 1 and 10BMCrsquos health department records an alarming increase in waterborne diseaseAccording to BMCrsquos health department data for May and June there were 501 and 676 cases of malaria 66 and 97 cases of leptospirosis 119 and 353 cases of dengue 1264 and 1744 cases of gastroenteritis 63 and 141 cases of hepatitis 4 and 8 cases of chikungunya and 62 and 90 cases of H1N1 respectivelyComparing these numbers to June last year the corresponding figures were 348 12 39 543 64 1 and 2 respectively In the first 10 days of July the city witnessed 156 cases of malaria 29 cases of leptospirosis 91 cases of dengue 474 cases of gastroenteritis 34 cases of hepatitis 5 cases of chikungunya and 34 cases of H1N1