The number of the patients undergoing treatment for diarrhoeal diseases shows sharp rise th is week.

Around 1319 people sought treatment at different hospitals across the country from Saturday morning to yesterday morning, according to the control room of Directorate General of Health Services. 7

International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases and Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR.B), the lone specialised hospital for diarrhoeal diseases in the country, experienced 650 patients yesterday, which was 699 on Saturday and 656 on Friday.

Since the last few weeks the number of patients with diarrhoea has been increasing. Currently the average number of patients receiving treatment every day at the ICDDR.B is 650 to 700. It was 500 to 600 three weeks ago, experts at ICDDR.B said.

Most of the patients are from Mirpur, Kafrul and Badda areas, they said adding that the number of child and adult patients are almost same.

The severity of diarrhoea is less than that of the previous year, but this year the outbreak of diarrhoea commenced much earlier, said Dr Shahadat Hossain, scientist and head of Longer Stay unit to The Daily Star.