India typically experiences annual showers between June to September, providing a respite from the scorching heat. Though it brings relief, it also brings a plenitude of diseases and infections. The risk of being exposed to viruses, bacteria, and other infections is higher in monsoons compared to other seasons. Extreme humidity in the air and puddles due to stagnant water during rains enable microorganisms to thrive in these conditions.
Essentially, these types of diseases go undiagnosed leading to morbidity, mortality and further transmission in the community. Adopting basic hygiene, preventive measures and seeking early and accurate diagnosis followed by appropriate treatment can keep individuals and the community healthy and safe from infectious diseases.
Sriram Natarajan, Founder, Director, and CEO, Molbio Diagnostics shares a detailed note on types of monsoon infections and how to control them. Read on!
Types of Monsoon Infections
Monsoon is the primary breeding season for mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases like Malaria, Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika. India bears a considerable burden of mosquito-borne diseases, contributing 11% to global malaria and 34% to global dengue cases. The best way to prevent these diseases is by using insecticide nets and mosquito repellants.
The risk of exposure to multiple air-borne viral infections such as the common flu, Influenza and other viruses that lead to viral fever, cold, cough, sore throat etc., also increases during monsoons. These are mostly mild but easily transmittable. People with a weak immune system, such as senior citizens, immunocompromised persons and children, are more prone to severe illness.
Water-borne diseases like Cholera, Typhoid, Hepatitis A and E, and other gastrointestinal infections cause a considerable illness and could also result in significant loss of life. This is a major cause of death in children under the age of five. Consumption of boiled water, avoiding street food, ensuring personal and environmental hygiene such as hand washing, keeping the surroundings clean, and vaccination of children are a few preventive and precautionary steps that help oneself safe from water-borne diseases. Leptospirosis is another bacterial disease that spreads due to contact with contaminated water or muck during the monsoons. If an individual has suffered an injury, they must ensure to keep it covered before stepping out of the home.
Scrub typhus fever is a zoonotic disease that spreads by the bite of a chigger mite infected with the bacteria Orientia tsutsugamushi. It occurs in people exposed to areas with scrub vegetation where rodents live, such as grassy areas and dense rain forests. Scrub typhus can be fatal if diagnosis and treatment is delayed. Using insect repellents containing active ingredients is registered against chiggers. It is exposed on the skin and clothing to avoid chigger bites, thus, preventing the disease.
Due to common overlapping symptoms, it is difficult to distinguish between Covid-19 and other monsoon illnesses. Bacterial and viral co-infections must also be suspected in moderate or severe cases of COVID-19 who aren’t responding to treatment. Thus, there is a need for an early differential diagnosis to enable the initiation of evidence-based and appropriate treatment. A speedy diagnosis helps avoid presumptive treatment and indiscriminate use of antibiotics and prevents the rise in antibiotic resistance.
Solutions
As in the case of Covid-19, molecular tools such as Real-Time PCR is the gold standard for testing for infectious diseases. Game-changing innovative solutions such as Truenat have ensured universal access to rapid molecular testing across the health care chain, thereby making molecular testing a routine clinical diagnostics tool.
Truenat facilitates early and accurate diagnosis of all these monsoon diseases and helps appropriate initiation of treatment on the same day of presentation. Technology and solutions like Truenat not only help in better patient outcomes but can prevent further spread of the disease, help in better disease management and aids in disease elimination.
