Dr Radhakrishna Pawar, Deputy Director (health), Pune Circle, said 48 of the cases of heat stroke were reported from municipal corporation areas in Solapur. So far, there are no new confirmed heat-stroke deaths, he said. With 50 cases of heatstroke being reported in the Pune circle in the past 12 months, and temperatures now hovering around the 40-degree Celsius mark, civic health authorities have reminded healthcare facilities in the city to monitor and report every such case without fail.
Dr Radhakrishna Pawar, Deputy Director (health), Pune Circle, said 48 of the cases of heat stroke were reported from municipal corporation areas in Solapur. So far, there are no new confirmed heat-stroke deaths, he said.
Officials said hospitals are required to fill the forms on cases of heat-related illness on the Integrated Health Information Platform of the Union health ministry’s National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health from March 1-July 31.
“We have reminded hospitals again in the first week of April to ensure that forms should be filled based on any heat-related illness and death at their facility. Presently, there is no alarming situation and hospitals have not reported cases in a big way,” Dr. Suryakant Deokar, Assistant health officer, Pune Municipal Corporation, said.
The purpose of heat-related illness surveillance is to assess the burden of illness and mortality due to heat, plan responses to adapt and mitigate heat impact, and evaluate the impact of climate action and changing climate.
On April 5, the civic health department sent a letter to dispensaries, medical officers at government hospitals and private facilities reiterating the importance of notifying these cases. “We have observed that there are some dispensaries and hospitals that have yet to open their accounts on the portal,” Deokar said.
Meanwhile, as part of the Government’s Information Education and Communication (IEC) campaign, guidelines have been issued by health authorities encouraging citizens to stay hydrated and wear light and loose cotton clothes during summer.
An advisory issued by the Maharashtra health department has also been circulated on clinical presentations of heat-related illness and treatment modalities. Arrangements have been made at civic hospitals to reserve cooling rooms apart from the adequate stock of medicines, Deokar said.