Jessore has recently seen a outbreak of diarrhoea, with 488 patients contracting the ailment in the last 17 days.
Sixty-two diarrhoea patients were admitted to the 250-bed Jessore General Hospital till yesterday afternoon.
Physicians and nurses of the hospital have seen their weekly holidays cancelled while doctors from other upazila health complexes have been brought on deputation to handle the unexpected rise in the number of patients.
Fifteen nurses are now taking care of the patients in the diarrhoea ward.
Acting caretaker of the hospital Dr Shyamol Krishna Saha yesterday said the outbreak was noticed on January 16.
Patients said they had no idea what caused the outbreak, adding that it seemed to have happened all of a sudden.
But they said they were happy with the treatment.
Dr SM Abu Sayeed, curator of the anatomy department, said doctors were dispensing the highest care.
“Six doctors from six upazila health complexes have been brought on deputation to treat patients in light of the gravity of the situation. We also have doctors from Jessore Medical College Hospital, senior healthcare education officer of the civil surgeon’s office and 30 students from the nursing institute,” he said.
Sayeed said the patients were mostly given orsaline from the hospital’s depository.
“We are also receiving orsaline from upazila health complexes, private firms and pharmaceutical companies. There is no shortage of medicine,” said the doctor.
Dr Shyamol said medicine specialists were consulted in order to treat all the patients equally from the emergency department to the ward.
He said the outbreak might have been caused by water and bacteria from stale food but the real reason could be detected after tests.
“We have collected stools of patients and sent those to laboratory. The report will come in 72 hours.
“The test to detect whether any virus caused the outbreak is only available at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research in Dhaka. But we are unable to send samples there because of the blockade and strike. The samples can be preserved for 15 days,” said Shyamol.
The acting caretaker of the hospital said the condition of not a single patient admitted to the hospital had deteriorated.
“Only one died as he was brought late and also because of the disproportion of minerals in his body,” he said.
The majority of the patients live in Jessore municipality area, including Bejpara, Kharki and Nazirshankarpur.
We are also getting patients from other places of the district, said Shyamol.
He said the situation would improve soon and there was no reason to get worried.
“Everyone now should drink boiled water and heat should be applied to food before eating. Anyone contracting diarrhoea should certainly be brought to hospital,” added Shyamol.