Monsoon Infections: 4 Ways To Prevent It

Remove coconut shells, unused buckets, tyres, and plastic containers that collect water and cause mosquitoes' breeding grounds.

Fever is a common presenting symptom in developing countries. It becomes the most common presenting symptom in our hospitals and clinics during the rainy season. Epidemics of acute febrile illness have been causing significant concerns in India. Dengue, malaria, typhoid, Leptospirosis, and scrub typhus have been reported in such epidemics. Often, there is an outbreak of cholera and other gastroenteritis during the rainy season due to contaminated food and water consumption. In this article, let's discuss common monsoon infections and ways to prevent them. These infections can be broadly divided into vector-borne disease, leptospirosis, and those transmitted through contaminated food and water consumption.

VECTOR-BORNE DISEASE

Mosquito breeding increases exponentially during the rainy season due to water stagnation and an outbreak of diseases like Japanese Encephalitis, Chikungunya, Dengue, Malaria, and Sicca syndrome.

Culex mosquitoes and Monsonian mosquitoes cause Japanese encephalitis.

Signs are headache, vomiting, fever, fainting attacks, and seizures/fits:

1. Malaria- Caused by Anopheles mosquito. There is high-grade fever at fixed intervals, tiredness, headaches, joint pain, vomiting, loose stools, and yellowish discolouration of skin and urine(jaundice).
2. Dengue fever- Caused by the Aedes mosquito. It has four different strains. The subsequent attacks of Dengue in a previously infected person with a new strain can be severe, and precautions should be taken. The common signs are high-grade fever, severe joint pain (break bone fever), pain behind the eyes, redness in the eye, rashes on the skin, and bleeding tendencies when platelets are low.
3. Chikungunya- Caused by Aedes mosquito. Signs are high-grade fever, swelling on the feet, joint pain and vomiting.
4. Sicca Syndrome- Caused by Aedes mosquito. It is self-limiting with some cases of fever, rashes, eye redness and joint pain. If pregnant women get this infection, it causes microcephaly( small head) in the child.

The diseases mentioned earlier are all mosquito-borne, and let us see ways to prevent mosquito breeding and biting.

Prevention Against Mosquito Bite

Personal protection wearing fully covered clothes while going out, using mosquito repellants on the skin, and using mosquito repellants inside the home.

Indoor Measures

Make sure the water in indoor plant pots is changed once weekly. Water in the chill tray behind the fridge should be changed once weekly. Ensure washrooms are clean, toilets are closed, and buckets have no water collection. Also, Doors and windows are secured with proper nets.

Outdoor measures: Remove coconut shells, unused buckets, tyres, and plastic containers that collect water and cause mosquitoes' breeding grounds.