Hospitals in Faridpur have been seeing a surge in diarrhoea patients over the past month.
Due to the sudden change in weather, hospitals are also finding it difficult to manage the huge flow of patients suffering from fever, cold, and pneumonia.
Doctors reported that about 500 patients are being treated in the district's hospitals on a daily average, with the majority of them being children.
Authorities at the dedicated children's facility, Dr Zahed Memorial Shishu Hospital, said they have been treating more than 300 patients every day.
Resident Medical Officer Dr Emdadul Haque Shamim said children are mostly suffering from diarrhoea due to the sudden change in weather.
“Parents have to take special care of their children to prevent this disease,” he suggested.
Meanwhile, more than double the number of patients were seen admitted at Faridpur Sadar General Hospital, creating tremendous pressure on the hospital authorities.
Patients are seen on the floor of a Faridpur hospital amid the diarrhoea outbreak Dhaka TribuneHospital authorities said they only had 10 beds dedicated to diarrhoea patients.
Dr Abdullah Sayed said that generally, children will put anything they find in their mouths, and parents need to be aware of it. “Their hands must be kept clean at all times. There is no alternative to cleanliness to survive this outbreak.”
Farida Yeasmin, a senior nurse at the hospital, said: “We are trying our best to give services to the patients despite having limitations. The hospital is receiving patients with severe diarrhoea cases every day, and most of them are children.”
This scenario is almost the same at all the public and private hospitals and clinics in the district.
A daily wage earner, Akter Sheikh, from Madaripur said both of his children have been suffering from diarrhoea for some time. "I came to Faridpur for better treatment, but there were no beds available for my children.”
“My children are better now, but they had to stay on the floor,” he added.