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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Floods, droughts compound diseases in India -Raghu Murtugudde

Floods, droughts compound diseases in India -Raghu Murtugudde

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published Published on Nov 27, 2018   modified Modified on Nov 27, 2018
-The Hindu Business Line

The manner in which alternating wet and dry spells trigger disease and morbidity needs to be better understood

Monsoon fury was in full display this year with record floods over Kerala as well as widespread floods from Gujarat to the North-East. The season also produced a wide swathe of drought that covered much of peninsular India with a smattering of districts from Gujarat to the eastern regions and the North-East. Considering that even a normal monsoon season consists active and break periods, India is a unique place with floods and droughts juxtaposed in space and time.

Both floods and droughts degrade water quality and exacerbate health and hygiene issues not only from water-borne diseases but also from vector- and air-borne and zoonotic diseases. Confounding the floods and droughts, India’s mean temperatures are also generally optimal for maximum disease prevalence.

Air pollution in India is getting the much deserved attention recently, especially in terms of the unacceptably high number of premature deaths, not to mention the Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALY). DALY provides an estimate of disease burden in terms of years lost due to the disability caused by or premature mortality because of the disease. Air pollution is typically associated with chronic diseases such Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, asthma, and according to some new evidence, also diabetes.

What has not been getting as much attention is the disease morbidity due to floods and droughts.

India remains a hotspot for cholera, typhoid, malaria, filariasis, leptospirosis, schistosomiasis, Japanese encephalitis, etc., on the one hand, and for dengue, malaria, Chikungunya, and also incidences of swine flu and Zika.

Changes in monsoon

It is also evident now that all changes in monsoon occur as variations of these wet and dry spells. From ice ages to El Niño and La Niña, monsoon variability is manifest as alterations in the intensity and frequency of the active/break periods. Global warming is also beginning to make the wet periods more intense and break periods more frequent.

Responses of the whole host of diseases to this inherent character of monsoon distribution remains to be understood thoroughly if India wants to reduce the disease burden. All the major species of mosquitoes that are endemic to India have life cycles from eggs to adulthood of only 6-10 days. This means that the active/break periods may be leading to some unique human ecology, i.e., interactions between humans and their surroundings, which include the natural and social environments as well built infrastructure.

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The Hindu Business Line, 26 November, 2018, https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/floods-droughts-compound-diseases-in-india/article25600007.ece?homepage=true


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