Flooding brought on by unusually heavy rains in the country is increasing the risk of waterborne diseases including cholera and malaria.

Hectares of stagnant water are becoming breeding grounds for mosquitoes that spread malaria.

Yet, malaria is still a highly climate-sensitive vector-borne infectious disease that still represents a significant public health problem in the country.

While there is little comprehensive information about the burden of malaria caused by flooding and waterlogging, a few studies on the impact of flooding on malaria show that flooding could wash away existing mosquito-breeding sites.

However, stagnant water caused by heavy rainfall or overflow of rivers can create new breeding sites.

This situation can result in an increase in the vector population and the potential for malaria transmission. Moreover, there is water that has gathered in residential areas because of poor drainage systems and sanitation.

Therefore, people are also more exposed as a result of this flooding. People are living out of their houses. In normal conditions, it is difficult to get them to sleep under bed nets.

And in conditions like this, it will be even more difficult for people to use bed nets.

Warning signs

With so many people uprooted by floods, experts say parents who know the warning signs of malaria may miss them in their children.

Potentially, some parents might overlook a fever in a child, which could potentially be malaria. If at all possible, children should be made to sleep under bed nets, even in these conditions.

Flood waters carry human and animal faeces, silt, toxic chemical wastes, oil, and other suspended particles with it. The occurrence of infectious diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery associated with drinking such water is quite common.

Thus, it is necessary to focus on the prevention of waterborne diseases by treating the water and making it fit for human consumption. Waterborne diseases are contagious and their prevention requires high standards of hygiene and sanitation.

They are extremely harmful and lead to severe illness and may even be fatal. They lower the body’s resistance and intake of nourishment, resulting in further infections and diseases. Therefore, prevention of waterborne diseases is vital.

In order to prevent these diseases, it is important to take necessary precautions particularly in rural areas.

The quality of water should be improved at the source itself for communities residing in areas affected by floods. In certain areas, the quality of water supply might be in question.

In such cases, it is necessary to educate the masses to disinfect the water before use, especially through a nationwide campaign.