1.     Common cold, cough and viral fever:

One of the biggest causes of major absenteeism in the monsoons – the common cold – is common due to the fact that viruses thrive better in humid conditions. Staying in wet clothes for a long time, prolonged exposure to the humid air from the air-conditioners can increase your chances of catching a cold. 

So, don’t stay wet for long. Keep a pair of fresh clothes in your office locker. Turn down the ACs and open the windows.

Being viral in origin, the common cold spreads really  fast through contact. So, remember to wash your hands often. Prevent contact with people who have the cold as much as possible.

Boost your immunity by eating fresh fruits and veggies. Keep yourself well hydrated with fresh juice, soups, green tea and lukewarm water.

2. Malaria:

One of the common and deadly diseases caused by certain species of mosquitoes breeding in the dirty water in the monsoons, Malaria is characterized by fever, body ache, chills and sweating.  If untreated, it can lead to severe complications like jaundice, severe anemia, liver and kidney failure.

To prevent the disease,

• Make sure that there is no stagnant water in your neighbourhood. These act as ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
• If you store water in the house due to its shortage, close the container.
• Use mosquito screens, nets, fibre glass meshes or magnetic insect repellent screens for your windows if you live in a mosquito-infested area.
• If possible, avoid going out immediately after dusk. If you need to, wear clothes that cover your body well. Cover the exposed parts with a mosquito repellent.
• Indoor residual spraying with an insecticide is also recommended.
• Insecticide treated bed nets should be used in areas where mosquitos and malaria are rampant.
• If travelling to a malaria-endemic area, consult your doctor and discuss chemoprophylaxis before you travel..

3. Typhoid:

Prolonged fever lasting for more than five days, headache and abdominal pain followed by a rash in the second week might be indicative of typhoid. This disease is mostly spread via contaminated food and water. 

If you want to avoid typhoid, avoid eating outside food as much as possible. Stick to homemade food and boiled water. If you live in an area where typhoid is very common, get yourself vaccinated against it.

4. Hepatitis A (commonly called jaundice):

A viral disease spread through contaminated food and water, Hepatitis A is characterized by symptoms similar to the flu – an increase in body temperature with body ache, joint pains followed by loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. This may be followed by a yellowish tinge in the eyes, skin and nails. Within a week, you might notice dark-coloured urine.

Again, eating homemade food and clean water can prevent most cases of hepatitis A. These days, vaccinations to prevent the disease are also available.

5. Leptospirosis:

A bacterial disease spread by rats, it is mostly caused by contaminated food or by wading in dirty water, especially if you have injuries on the skin.

High fever and chills with severe headaches and bodyache, followed by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain characterize the disease.  

You can prevent Leptospirosis by not exposing your feet to dirty, stagnant rainwater. If you have any injuries, cover them well.

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“According to the World Health Organisation, it is the movement of people rather than mosquitoes, which results in dengue transmission. There is regular movement of people from here to districts just across the border and back. We cannot restrict people’s movement. Instead we are focussing on vector control activities to reduce the spread of infection,” a senior health official said.

Public health experts and entomologists along with senior health officials from the state have been brought together to form special teams to monitor the dengue situation in the Vellarada-Parassala-Poovar areas.

The senior health official commented, “The teams will visit these areas from June 4 to 6. They will look for any abnormal features among the fever cases and study the vector density and pattern. We have to identify the vulnerable wards in these areas and strengthen the source reduction activities here. We need to do intensive fogging in the locality within 200m of the border and create ‘mosquito-free zones’”.

What’s worrying the officials more is the emergence of dengue and leptospirosis co-infections which have a very high mortality rate. 2-3 days of fever followed b jaundice, renal failure and sudden death have been observed in these co-infected cases. The upcoming monsoons are high on the concern list too as vector-borne diseases go up even higher.