mumbai its that time of year when mumbai undergoes a complete makeover roads are resurfaced nullahs are cleaned and building terraces get fresh coats of antiseepage paint in an annual drill aimed at reducing the impact of rains on daytoday lifemonsoons spell magic for the city but the rains also bring with them seasonal maladies some commonplace and some more serious waterborne diseases an unfiltered glass of water in the rains could contain bacterial or viral loads that can cause gastroenteritis typhiod cholera and hepatitis a and e says dr suhas pingle of the general practitioners associationthese ailments especially gastroenteritis andmalaria top the citys monsoonmalady charts says the bmc whenever there is intermittent rains water gets stored on rooftops flower pots and coconut shells that are strewn around these fresh water pools allow mosquitoes to breed leading to outbreaks of malaria in the julyaugust period says dr ramesh kathuria executive health officer of the brihanmumbaimunicipal corporationcholera cases are another drain on the citys healthcare system which occur despite its whostandard water filtration system thanks to a crumbling water delivery system that increases the scope of contamination en route slums that havent been regularised after 1995 dont have municipal water supply its inhabitants resort to taking illegal connection by breaking the water mains and pipes these leaks increase the risk of contamination during rains says dr kathuria another source of water contamination is leaks in drain pipes that run parallel to drinking water lines tanker water which has been deemed unpotable by the bmc is still supplied to many residential colonies in the suburbs and harbour many diseasecausing bacteria and virusesmoreover when it pours in mumbai which records a rainfall of between 150200 cm every year the citys hygiene standards get drowned in the rain the overall hygiene on roads deteriorate when there is waterlogging points out gastroenterologist dr amit maydeo of jaslok hospital in other words the conditions are ideal for diseasescarrying bacteria viruses and the common flies to proliferate and spread diseases he addswhat about leptospirosis if there is no flooding there wont any cases of leptospirosis as the bacteria only enters the body through cuts and open wounds he saysso how does one guard against the increased viral or bacterial load during rains the trick is guard against contamination of food and water advises a public health official she says water should be filtered or boiled for at least 10 minutesanother trick of staying healthy in rains is to avoid eating outside food especially at roadside stalls infectious diseases of the stomach can be frequent in monsoons uncooked food specially contains bacteria more often in monsoon points out dr maydeo and yes keep away from stale food of course there is another expensive method of staying immune in rains vaccination a twodose vaccine is available for hepatitis a which is common during monsoons but it is steep at almost rs 1400 each says dr suhas pingle of the general practitioners associationthe haffkine institute used to