‘Textile workers’ lung diseases make them vulnerable to Covid’

Cities from Maharashtra known for textile industries – Solapur, Malegaon and Bhiwandi – have higher fatality rate than the state, according to the data. Civic authorities

Cities from Maharashtra known for textile industries – Solapur, Malegaon and Bhiwandi – have higher fatality rate than the state, according to the data. Civic authorities from these cities have identified occupational lung diseases among textile workers, comprising a majority of the fatalities, as one of the reasons. The authorities are now actively tracing and targeting workers to reduce the fatalities.

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As of July 7, Solapur city has reported 2,825 cases and 285 deaths, with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 10%. Malegaon’s CFR is 7.14%, as it has reported 82 deaths and 1,147 cases. The Bhiwandi-Nijampur Municipal Corporation has 2,620 cases and 140 people have died with a CFR of 5.34%. The state’s CFR stands at 4.22%.

Most textile workers suffer from byssinosis, a lung disease caused by inhalation of cotton dust, which makes them more vulnerable to infections. Besides the textile hub, Solapur city also houses the beedi industry. Beedi workers, too, suffer from respiratory ailments. Solapur has 60,000 beedi workers and 30,000 textile workers. Many patients, who died were found to be textile or beedi workers.

“Besides the compromised immunity due to weakened lungs, they do not pay proper attention to their diet and medical treatment. The symptoms for Covid-19 are reported late, making it worse, while treating and saving lives. If not treated in time, the risk of spread is also high. We have identified 60,000 such workers and people with comorbidities. We are carrying out aggressive screening and testing to reduce the death rate,” said Dr Pradeep Dhele, civil surgeon, Solapur.

Dr Amol Annadate, who has worked with the Malegaon Municipal Corporation to reduce the cases, said, “Many textiles workers suffer from tuberculosis and pneumoconiosis. Their respiratory system works at half of the capacity, making it difficult to treat them for Covid-19. Some patients come very late and in some cases, the lungs are badly damaged. One of the lessons Covid-19 has taught us is the need to relocate highly populated towns like Malegaon and restructure the textiles industry,” he said.

Dr Jaywant Dhule, medical officer of health in Bhiwandi, said 30% of the patients are employed in textile industries. “Besides respiratory problems and comorbidities, the workers live in highly dense areas, mostly slums, where vulnerability increases rapidly. We have started mohalla clinics to reach out to them and reduce the fatality rate by earlier identification,” he said.

While the death rate in textile towns is high due to the occupational hazards, the spike in the cases in Jalgaon is because of the high rate of inter-state transportation for banana trade. ‘Banana belt’, where migration from other states is high, is cited as the reason for the fatality rate of 6.40% in Jalgaon, where 4,712 cases have been reported so far. “Another reason is the traffic movement as three national highways pass through the district,” said a state government official.