A four-year-old girl from Behala was diagnosed with cholera, as doctors across the city reported a sharp rise in gastrointestinal infections. Hundreds of patients were turning up at clinics and hospital OPDs with symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, and nausea — some requiring hospitalisation.

Doctors said such infections were common during the monsoon, but cases had surged in recent weeks. Bacterial infections like cholera and viral illnesses, including Rotavirus and influenza, appeared to be driving the spike.

Sangsthita Mukherjee, the child from Behala’s Parnasree, began vomiting and suffering from diarrhoea on the evening of July 31. Her condition worsened by August 2. “We took her to the hospital, where doctors advised admission,” said her mother, Satabdi. “We are always careful about her drinking water. We don’t know how she got cholera.”

Sangsthita is at Peerless Hospital. “She had fever, vomiting, loose motion, and abdominal pain,” said Saheli Dasgupta, head of paediatric critical care at the hospital. “A viral panel was conducted on Sunday, and cholera was detected.”

“The child is being administered IV fluids and is stable, though she still has no appetite and is nauseous,” Dasgupta said.

On Monday, a team from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) visited the family’s home and collected water samples. “We took water from the tap, overhead tank, and underground reservoir,” said a civic official. “If contamination is found, we will take corrective steps.”

Another KMC official said 15 to 20 cholera cases were typically reported each month during the monsoon. “We were informed that the child was stable,” the official added.

Surge at hospitals

Doctors at several hospitals reported a steady influx of patients of all ages suffering from monsoon-related infections. “We were seeing more children and elderly people with fever, loose motion, nausea, and loss of appetite,” said Dasgupta of Peerless Hospital.

She noted that respiratory infections — mainly caused by the influenza virus — were leading the surge. “In the past week alone, I treated 20 children with influenza, and 10 of them needed admission. Around five to six children also came in with viral gastrointestinal infections.”

Metro reported last week that hospital beds were filling up due to a spike in viral infections. The H3N2 strain of influenza was being cited as a major factor.

“In addition to influenza, bacteria like cholera and viruses like Rotavirus are causing gastrointestinal infections,” said Chandramouli Bhattacharya, infectious diseases expert at Peerless. “Some patients with flu are also experiencing diarrhoea.”

Doctors said many patients, especially the elderly, required hospital care due to severe dehydration. “Severe vomiting and diarrhoea are causing acute dehydration and drops in blood pressure,” said Tanmay Banerjee, director of critical care medicine at Manipal Hospitals on EM Bypass. “We were seeing at least two to three cases of gastrointestinal infection every day.”