As you know Covid 19 pandemic is playing havoc in many countries, and India is among one of the country where number of cases are rising. As of reports available for worldwide Covid cases on 21st June 2020 India’s share of Global cases was at 10% of total Global cases where as Brazil was at 21.7%, USA at 21.1% , Russia at 4.9% and rest was at 42.3%.Where as deaths are concerned, on 21st June were Brazil 1022 (24.3%), US 607 (14.4%), India 306 (7.3%), Russia 30(0.7%) and others 2242(53.3%). In India cases may be high but when it comes to death per million, it is lowest among the four worst nations, India has 10 Covid deaths per million far lower than Russia’s 56, Brazil’s 238 and USA’s 362.
Now coming to Indian figures as on 21st June the 4 states account for over 60% of India’s daily cases- Maharashtra (24%), Delhi(18.6%), Tamil Nadu (15.7%), UP (7.1%) and Rest (34.6%). In cases of death 80% of deaths are reported from 5 states and they are Maharashtra (41%), Delhi (14.2%), Tamil Nadu (11.9%), UP(9.7%), Gujarat (5.6%) and Rest (16.9%).
So at this moment the picture regarding Covid pandemic in India is quite disturbing, but hopefully slowly situation might approve.
Now coming to my other topic of the day- friends you know now we are entering the monsoon season, and this will bring with it many water borne diseases like Cholera, Dysentery, Typhoid, Gasteroenteritis etc. As water is stagnant at many places, it becomes breeding ground for mosquitoes, which can lead to Malaria and Dengue. Hence we must take extra precautions especially concerning water during this season.
How we get water borne diseases– They occur when we consume contaminated water. This is a common phenomenon as we have underground pipes carrying water and we do not know where they could have been possibility of the water getting exposed or contaminated. Also, most water borne diseases are contagious as well. So it can spread from one person to other, unless care is taken.
Precautions– We can take a few precautions to avoid water borne diseases. The most important of all these precautions is to disinfect water at our end as we may not have much control over the source of the water. The best way to purify water is to boil it well so that all micro organism in it is killed. One may also use iodine tinctures or tablets to disinfect the water. A few other precautions that can be taken is to ensure that not to drink any additional outside water, wash your hands thoroughly before eating, for drinking use properly cleaned vessel, wash your vegetables properly before cooking and also cook them well enough. Dispose home waste responsibly, so that there is no chance of contamination, especially if you have diaper, sanitary napkins etc.
Try to eat, home cooked foods and avoid food and drink from outside as much as possible. Cover the food and water and do not leave it open, lest any flies sit on it and spread disease. Eating some immune boosting foods for the monsoon season is also recommended as it helps fight the diseases. Include some hot and healthy soups in your everyday diet, and also include foods like yogurt (bacterial probiotic) with Vitamin D fortified. Dry fruits and green leafy vegetables are another options to boost immunity. Few spices like turmeric, asafoetida (hing), coriander, pepper, cinnamon, ginger etc are good to keep immunity up and going.
Home Remedies– if you get severe symptoms which are persisting, one should consult a doctor without fail, however, few home remedies can be tried when the symptoms are mild. For example, for cholera, lemon and ginger can be consumed as this is said to kill the cholera causing bacteria. Also include onion and turmeric in your daily food, as these two can help to keep cholera at bay and also provide relief from the symptoms. Home remedies for Typhoid fever once diagnosed, include increased fluid intake, using cold compresses to bring the temperature down, drinking ORS solution made of sugar and salt, include ginger in your diet and drinking basil and ginger concoction. Please note that home remedies are only for mild symptoms/additional treatment and not to be fully relied upon if symptoms are severe/very severe, then proper medical treatment should be taken.
Hope this information will be useful to you all.
Waiting for your feed backs/views/comments.
Anil Malik
Mumbai, India
23rd June 2020
R. N. Mumale.
Very useful information.