With the onset of summer comes the usual free package of a disease: Gastroenteritis. Bangalore is very familiar with this epidemic, so much so that it evokes little or no response at the mention of it. However, I thought of sharing some significant and alarming facts about this 'summer companion'.

Let's get to the basics first. Gastroenteritis means inflammation of the stomach and small and large intestines. Viral gastroenteritis is an infection caused by a variety of viruses that results in vomiting or diarrhoea. It is often called the "stomach flu".

The main factors for high incidence and mortality are unsafe water or inadequate sanitation, requiring social, economic and political solutions. The immediate causes are often of an infectious nature and include a variety of pathogenic microorganisms.

The character and severity of symptoms depend on the nature of the causative agent, the duration of its action and the patient's resistance. Onset is often sudden and sometimes dramatic, with anorexia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhoea (with or without blood and mucus). Associated malaise, muscular aches, and prostration may occur.

The boring textual facts end there. What's the real scene like?

The Ulsoor Lake is no longer a tourist attraction anymore what with sewage water that collects there, apart from the wastes that are dumped in it regularly. And then, there is this 'open drain' that (I guess is the longest in the world) meanders across the city! With these conditions, the people of Ulsoor and surrounding areas have been vulnerable and most deaths due to Gastroenteritis have been recorded from Indiranagar. This is just one place that I have chosen to mention. It's sad that Gastroenteritis has been a regular cause of many deaths every summer. What are we doing about it? Will these figures of death remain statistics and make headlines every summer or will we do take up some measures to control this problem?

Viral gastroenteritis, in particular is contagious. The viruses that cause gastroenteritis are spread through close contact with infected persons (for example, by sharing food, water, or eating utensils). Individuals may also get infected by eating or drinking contaminated foods or beverages. Going by the unhygienic styles of living and eating in most places in Bangalore, people are but susceptible to this much-dreaded disease. One common feature on a typical street of Bangalore is the 'chaat cart' that attracts most people including the ones who parade on MG Road and Brigade Road. These carts have food made in the open air because of which the food is contaminated. After a plate of spicy but finger licking 'chaat', one tends to drink the water that is served there. The water could be from that very lake or from some other equally unreliable source but then who cares, when all that one wants is to quench his thirst. Food poisoning is the result and more often than not, the final diagnosis is Gastroenteritis when it is too late for any cure.

Apart from the severe problem of diarrhoea in young children there have been outbreaks of infectious gastroenteritis in adults. Bangalore faces this problem year after year but the 'local authorities' do not seem to have done their homework at all. The responsibility for providing safe drinking water rests with them: Water Board/Water Purveyor who own and operate the community's water collection and drinking system. These agencies are responsible for installing and maintaining appropriate treatment processes to maintain a certain level of disinfection in the water they distribute, and must answer to the citizens in the communities they serve. It's there for all to see that there does not seem to be any responsibility from the government in this regard.

I guess I need to narrate this incident…I always remember it, whenever a topic related to contaminated water arises. A minister from our Cabinet visited Washington. On his return, a relative asked him, "What is the major difference between Washington and Bangalore?" He responded, "It's amazing…These guys have different pipelines laid for Water and Sewage".

Is there anything left more me to say? Please send in your comments on the same in the Banging it Out Board@Communique.