Patients undergo treatment at MGM Medical College and Hospital on Friday. Picture by Animesh Sengupta

Sweltering summer means a steady stream of sufferers at heal hubs. And MGM Medical College and Hospital is no exception.

In 48 hours, the state-run hospital in Sakchi, Jamshedpur, has taken in as many as 43 patients — most of them complaining of excessive conditions like dehydration and hyperpyrexia (very high fever), while few are victims of milder forms of summer maladies like heat exhaustion.

What is concerning is that majority of the symptoms are sudden and serious.

Fifty-year-old Sufia Perveen of Old Purulia Road, Mango, was hale and hearty till Wednesday evening, according to family members. “Around 7pm that day, she got fever. And by 10pm, she was seriously ill. Her body temperature rose very high and her stomach started churning. It was almost like diarrhoea. We rushed her to hospital,” said husband Mohammed Mustafa.

The heat attack on 65-year-old Budhan Shaw was more unexpected. The elderly resident of Bhilaipahadi went to attend a wedding in Patamda on Monday. Two days later, he returned home and took to bed. “My father was running high temperature. We tried the regular pills — paracetamol tablets, et al — but in vain. When the thermometer read over 104°F, we risked no chance and brought him to MGM,” said son Sumit Shaw.

Not just MGM, victims of heat and humidity are also swamping Tata Main Hospital (TMH). While the OPD is crowded day in and day out, TMH records showed five admissions in 48 hours.

Sources at hospitals said most patients were coming from the city’s fringes, where power trips frequently and most people cannot afford to run fans on generators. “Without uninterrupted supply of power and water, it is almost impossible to beat the heat,” one of them said.

To top it all, the weather god is in no mood to relent.

Maximum temperatures in Jamshedpur have long remained above the oppressive 40°C mark. Thursday had seen a daytime high of 43.1°C, with the humidity reaching 87 per cent. Friday was hotter at 43.4°C, while the moisture content remained as high as the day before.

Doctors at MGM said that almost all the patients had been put on drip.

“Those who are suffering from hyperpyrexia, which is extreme elevation of body temperature, are being administered aggressive cooling methods like bathing/sponging at regular intervals. On the other hand, victims of dehydration are being administered saline,” said a medical officer. He warned of more cases if the temperature continued to rise.

Allaying fears of a crisis, MGM superintendent S.S. Prasad said the hospital had adequate stock of saline and other medicines. “We made arrangements well in advance because summers are always rush time at hospitals,” he added.

10jamhospital1-2: MGM Medical College and Hospital is seeing an influx of heat victims for the past two days. Picture by Animesh Sengupta