In Mumbai, people fall sick due to contaminated water

Cases of gastroenteritis do go up during monsoons, but doctors in Mumbai said this year, cases have gone up by around 20 to 30%, compared to previous years.

Mumbai: After developing a “terrible stomach infection” on Thursday morning, filmmaker Hansal Mehta wasted no time to highlight his plight on Twitter and tagged the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and various politicians. “It hit me before I’d even eaten. Spoke to my family doctor and he said that he is seeing at least 10 patients with similar symptoms every day and some have been hospitalised. The infections seem to be from a bug originating in our drinking water,” Mehta tweeted.

Citizens fall sick due to impure water

The tweet spurred the civic body into action – around 10 people visited his housing society in Bandra West to collect samples of water to test. “It took an angry tweet to wake them up. It should not have happened in the first place and I am not the only one falling sick due to contaminated water,” said Mehta. “The doctor blamed it on a bug in my water.”

A day after, BMC responded to him on the same platform, stating: “The H West Ward Office has conducted an inspection of the water tanks and water supply at the residence and building in question. No signs of water contamination were observed during the inspection. Nevertheless, as a precautionary step, a sample of the BMC water supply from this location has been collected and sent to a laboratory for testing.” The civic body added that it had received no complaints of water contamination from the area.

However, Mehta’s tweet turned out to be the tip of the iceberg – evidenced by citizens’ responses sharing similar symptoms.

Yogesh Shinde, a member of RNA Regency, in Kandivali West shared pictures of bottles of black-coloured water. “We have been receiving sewer-like water since June 14. When we reached out to authorities, it took them nearly a month to locate two leakages in the pipeline,” said Shinde.

There are 480-plus houses in his society and all the residents have been impacted by contaminated water. “Additionally, our domestic helps and drivers have also shared similar plight from the nearby slums where they reside.”

After the outbreak, residents had all the eight tanks – each with a capacity of 15,000 litres – cleaned. “There was foul odour emanating from inside, along with greasy-muddy matter stuck inside,” he said.

Juhu resident Karan Vyas said, “Both my wife and I have been falling sick for some time now. We had similar symptoms like Mehta. We have now started buying packaged drinking water at home. After his tweet, BMC called us and promised to visit the locality.”

While BMC’s additional commissioner (projects), P Velrasu, was not available to comment on the issue, Daksha Shah, executive medical officer of health, blamed the rise in numbers simply to an increase in the number of cases being reported to the civic body. In recent times, it has increased from 25 to 800, she said.

“If there is a quick rise in any particular area, we do a rapid survey. Water samples from every ward are tested routinely from six sites, some from mains and others from local areas. We learn about the contamination immediately, if any,” said Shah. “We request citizens to boil drinking water, and call us if they come across any cases of water contamination.”

Talak Shah, former chief engineer of the hydraulic engineering department of BMC however said, “While the roads are a priority for BMC, the water issues are completely neglected. The civic body has no budgetary constraints but resolving water issues is not a priority, unlike concretising roads.”

He added that while BMC supplies clean water “other factors such as water logging and sewage line overflowing lead to contamination from leaked spots”.

Rise in cases: Docs

A spike in cases of gastroenteritis during monsoons is well established (See box), but doctors in the city have said this year the number of cases have gone up by around 20 to 30%, compared to previous years.

Dr Falguni Parikh, consultant, internal medicine, from Bhakti Vedanta Hospital, Mira Road, who also practices at a clinic in Borivali, said, “There has been an increase in gastroenteritis cases, possibly due to contaminated water. When monsoon sets in, we have to be cautious with food and water as both can get contaminated easily.” She added that the cases also increase “because stored water can easily get contaminated with rainwater, or due to cross contamination with gutter water”.

Consuming contaminated water leads to gastrointestinal diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery, and sometimes typhoid. Usually, the illness is mild and self-limiting, but in cases of bacterial or parasitic infections, treatment is required. Persistent symptoms can cause dehydration and an inability to keep food down.

Dr Chetan Kalal, programme director of hepatology at Nanavati Max Super Specialty Hospital, Vile Parle, concurred with Parikh, about the spike in numbers this year. He said, “People are going out, involved in outdoor activities, consuming street food, unsafe water and probably not following strict hygienic practices as before. Typically, the cause for gastroenteritis is a virus followed by hepatis A or E.”

Rise in cases: Docs

A spike in cases of gastroenteritis during monsoons is well established (See box), but doctors in the city have said this year the number of cases have gone up by around 20 to 30%, compared to previous years.

Dr Falguni Parikh, consultant, internal medicine, from Bhakti Vedanta Hospital, Mira Road, who also practices at a clinic in Borivali, said, “There has been an increase in gastroenteritis cases, possibly due to contaminated water. When monsoon sets in, we have to be cautious with food and water as both can get contaminated easily.” She added that the cases also increase “because stored water can easily get contaminated with rainwater, or due to cross contamination with gutter water”.

Consuming contaminated water leads to gastrointestinal diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery, and sometimes typhoid. Usually, the illness is mild and self-limiting, but in cases of bacterial or parasitic infections, treatment is required. Persistent symptoms can cause dehydration and an inability to keep food down.

Dr Chetan Kalal, programme director of hepatology at Nanavati Max Super Specialty Hospital, Vile Parle, concurred with Parikh, about the spike in numbers this year. He said, “People are going out, involved in outdoor activities, consuming street food, unsafe water and probably not following strict hygienic practices as before. Typically, the cause for gastroenteritis is a virus followed by hepatis A or E.”

VOICES

Sampatti Karkera, Vikhroli

My 10-year-old daughter was hospitalised on Monday as she had high fever. Doctors feel it may be due to water contamination. We take utmost care and ensure that children drink hot water at home and carry the same to school. Parents have to be vigilant during monsoons.

Swapna Kode, Sion

Everyone in my family has grumbling tummy and uneasiness. Sometimes the pain lasts for a few days. Many others in our building are also facing similar health issues.

Dos and Don’ts

Avoid street food, especially pani puri and chutneys.

Skip preserved food and choose fresh and cooked meals.

If compelled to eat out, choose hygienic restaurants.

Drink boiled water.

Maintain sanitation.

Avoid other monsoon-related illnesses

Do not let water stagnate.

Don’t wear wet clothes.

Wash your feet with clean water after wading through rain water.

Avoid repeatedly taking over-the-counter medicines.