Outbreak of diarrhoea is on the rise in Ulipur upazila of Kurigram district. Doctors said the situation was due to climate change, lack of cleanliness and food poisoning. Most of the diarrhoea patients are children.
However, as there is no specific ward for diarrhoea patients, they have to be treated on the balcony or on the floor, said Jannatul Ferdous, a senior staff nurse in charge at Kurigram District Hospital.
Talking to the doctors on duty at the hospital, it was learned that the number of diarrhoea patients has been steadily increasing since January this year. In the last 10 days till Tuesday noon, about 31 patients have been treated for diarrhoea. However, most of the infected patients are chidren.
On January 26, an eight-month-old baby named Morsalin died of diarrhoea and on March 3, another 15-month-old baby named Borhan Mia died.
Hospital officials said that the number of diarrhoea patients was higher at the end of February, but increased slightly from mid-March.
A separate ward is required for diarrhoea patients even if there is adequate medication. But we don't have that here.
The hospital's residential health officer (RMO) Maidul Islam said, there is no problem in treatment. The number of hospital beds is less but the number of patients is more. Patients suffer because there is no separate ward for diarrhoea patients.