Waterborne Diseases Spread Fast Across Bangladesh: Report

Waterborne diseases spread fast across Bangladesh: report

DHAKA, July 18 (Xinhua) — Different waterborne diseases, including diarrhea, have been spreading fast across Bangladesh, especially in flood-hit areas.

At least 16 people died of diarrhea and 63,410 caught the waterborne disease in the last one month. Of them, three died and 14,538 contracted the disease in the past week alone, New Age quoted sources in the control room of the directorated of health as saying on Monday.

The number of people affected by diarrhea and admitted to the hospital from July 1 to July 7 was 1,357, but the figure was 1,920 from July 10 to July 16, it reported.

A number of people have also been affected by other waterborne diseases like dysentery and pneumonia due to lack of pure drinking water in the flood-hit areas and the areas clogged with water.

More than 600,000 people were marooned in seven districts on the Brahmaputra basin in northern Bangladesh as more areas were inundated with further deterioration of the overall flood situation till Sunday, official BSS news agency reported.

BSS quoted Water Development Board as saying that the rainfall recorded during the past one week at different points of greater Rangpur in northern Bangladesh was almost around 600 mm, the fifth highest annual average rainfall recorded in these areas in recent decades.