C T Online Desk: The number of patients suffering from cold-related diseases has increased in the last few days across the country, including in Dhaka city, during winter.
Health experts have advised people, particularly children and the elderly, to remain alert about the cold-related diseases, including fever, flu type diseases and pneumonia.
“Alongside the coronavirus infected patients, many people are suffering from seasonal flu like diseases, including fever and cough. But they are getting recovery after taking treatment,” Prof Dr Nazmul Islam, spokesperson of the DGHS, told the Daily Sun.
The hospital sources said cold-related diseases have started spreading at the beginning of winter, which still continues and is affecting people, mainly children and the elderly. A large number of patients are suffering from common cold, diarrhoea and flu like disease.
However, this winter comes with additional concerns as fresh surge of coronavirus infection is happening here. Infection with the new variant Omicron has been spreading rapidly.
“The number of cold-related patients has increased in our hospital for the last few weeks. Particularly, the number of children infected with pneumonia has increased,” Dr Md Khalilur Rahman, director of Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, told the Daily Sun.
While visiting the hospital, this correspondent saw that many patients are also rushing to the hospital outpatient department with various types of flu like diseases, including fever and cough.
Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) sources said the number of patients with flu like diseases particularly children with pneumonia has increased in the hospital in the last two to three weeks.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) control room data said 485 people were detected with ARI (Acute Respiratory Infection) and two died in 35 upazilas across the country, including in Dhaka, in the last 24 hours till Thursday morning.
Of them, 155 ARI cases were detected in the capital during the same time.
The DGHS further said 1,129 patients were detected with diarrhoea and 1,379 with other diseases in 35 upazilas across the country in the last 24 hours.
It said a total of 24,489 ARI cases were detected, 51,202 diarrhoea and 63,530 patients with other diseases were detected in the country from November 15 last till January 11 this year.
The DGHS control room in charge said they started collecting data of the cold-related diseases like ARI cases from November 15 last.
According to the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), on average around 500 diarrhoea patients, including children, are rushing to the icddr,b hospital daily.
Sources from different hospitals in Dhaka and other parts of the country said people, including children and the elderly, with cold related disease already started rushing to the hospitals.
Talking to the Daily Sun, some people of the capital said the patients suffering from cold-related diseases are not getting scope to get admitted to hospitals without Covid-19 test result, for which they have to go to different health facilities amid sufferings.
Rakib Hossain, father of Anam, a seven-year-old child in Mirpur, said his son has been suffering from cold-related diseases, including fever for the last three days.
The health experts said people are affected by various types of cold-related diseases, including acute respiratory infection (ARI), pneumonia, asthma, diarrhoea and jaundice, during winter season.
They said children face various types of cold-related diseases, including diarrhoea, caused by rotavirus and pneumonia during winter and the diseases sometimes become severe.
Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital sources said many pneumonia patients have been rushing to the hospital for the last few weeks.
The hospital data said around 100 patients with pneumonia were admitted at the hospital Inpatient Department from January 1 to January 15. On average, 7-10 pneumonia patients are still getting admitted in the hospital every day, the hospital sources said.
Dr ASM Alamgir, principal scientific officer of Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said people are usually affected by various types of diseases, including common cold, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection and four types of seasonal corona virus.
Dr Ahmedul Kabir, a noted medicine specialist of the country, said during winter, people usually suffer from various types of diseases, including increased asthma problems, respiratory infection, allergic problems, breathing problems and diarrhoea.
Dr Kabir also advised people to wear masks, avoid public gathering, maintain hygiene, increase physical activity, keep arrangement of proper ventilation in living rooms and keep children protected from cold during the winter.
Meanwhile, at least 15 children died of pneumonia at the government hospitals in Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban in the last three weeks, doctors at the hospitals said.
