lucknow: The deaths of over 250 people in the span of the last 10 days has flummoxed doctors as they are struggling to find the exact cause of death while people claim that patients are dying of heat wave as hospitals are not equipped with sufficient medical facilities.
Doctors are not sure whether the cause of fatalities is heat. They say it could be something else and under the clamour of heat waves, the exact cause of deaths could be ignored. In Ballia, where over 70 people have died in the last five days, the deaths are reported from only two regions — Bansdiha and Garhwar — blocks. The basic question asked is why most of the deaths are reported only from these two blocks. As the heat wave is prevalent across eastern Uttar Pradesh why deaths are reported from select pockets.
“This is really a matter of concern as to why so many people have died in such a small span of time. We are probing the exact cause of death,” UP Health Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak said. The scorching summer temperatures, reaching as high as 43 degrees Celsius, have been taking a heavy toll on the region. The intense heat wave has triggered a wave of heat-related illnesses, with heat strokes being the primary concern.
According to local health officials, the victims of this heat wave were predominantly elderly individuals, who already had underlying health problems. The extreme heat aggravated their conditions, leading to severe consequences and, in some cases, death.
Common pre-existing health issues among the deceased include cardiovascular diseases, respiratory problems, and diabetes, all of which can be exacerbated by high temperatures.
Dr. Jayant Kumar, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Ballia said generally it is believed that incidents of heart attacks increase during winters, but scorching heat can lead to heart attacks too. Hot weather means your body has to work harder to keep its core temperature at normal levels, and this puts extra strain on your heart, lungs, and kidneys. “This means that you can be at greater risk if one has a heart ailment,” he said. Dr. Rajesh Kumar, a senior physician at a local hospital, explained: “Elderly people are more vulnerable to heat-related complications due to their reduced ability to regulate body temperature and adapt to extreme weather conditions. The prolonged exposure to extreme heat can lead to dehydration, heat exhaustion, and, in severe cases, heat strokes. These conditions can have fatal consequences, especially for individuals already struggling with chronic illnesses.”
Dr AK Singh, one of the senior officials investigating the deaths, said they could not immediately confirm if the weather had played a part since other districts experiencing similar temperatures had not reported such deaths.
“Also, the fever is not as high as it should be in case of a heatwave,” he told reporters. Officials said they were also looking into other potential sources of infection, such as water contamination. It was not immediately clear whether all the victims were from one locality. “Most of the patients were above 60 and had pre-existing ailments. These were exacerbated by the heat and they were brought to the hospital in serious condition. They died despite being given adequate treatment and medicines,” Dr Singh said.
Is water contamination behind such large number of deaths?
The probe team is focussing on two blocks — Bansdiha and Garhwar — from where maximum fatalities are reported. Both these areas are close to a river (Ganges), which has led investigating officials to consider water contamination as a possible cause of the deaths. Doctors have carried out blood, urine, serum, and even stool tests of the patients admitted in the hospital.