Health Ministry warns:

Bowel diseases surge due to rains

By Carol Aloysius

The Health Ministry has warned the public that several bowel related diseases could escalate in the wake of the heavy south west monsoon showers, which may result in hospitalisation for many.

"Diseases such as diarrhoea, hepatitis, typhoid and other bowel related illnesses are common during such weather. The public must take every precaution to avoid getting them", Assistant Director of the Food Control Administration Unit of the Health Ministry, H. Tilekeratne told The Sunday Observer. So what are the precautions? Can any member of the public observer them?

In reply, the Health Ministry food expert shared some of his golden rules with the Sunday Observer for preventing these diseases which could undermine one's health.

Excerpts

Rule No. 1: Drink only boiled cooled water. Water boiled at the correct temperature can kill germs. Avoid drinking water from

un-protected wells or using water from them to wash dishes or vegetables, as the water could have been polluted with overflowing septic tanks", he said.

Rule No. 2: Avoid eating raw or lightly cooked leafy vegetables, especially salads and malluns such as gotukola, kankun, mukunuwenna during the rainy weather. "Leafy vegetables are grown on river banks. The rivers overflow and the vegetables become contaminated with polluted water", he said.

Q: Does that mean we have to deprive ourselves of these nutritious leafy green veggies till the rains cease?

A: No. But before you eat these leafy greens or, any vegetable raw, you must wash them first in clean water and then soak them in a strong concentration of salt water which would kill the germs, before consumption. This should be followed not only in rainy weather but always, as they are grown often in polluted water and require a strong dose of salt to kill the germs. In vegetables such as cabbage, remove the outer leaves which are most exposed to contamination,", he said.

Q: What about fruit?

A: Never eat any fruit without washing and peeling them. Even when plucked from trees, mangoes, jumbu or guava should be washed in clean water and peeled before consuming. This should be practised both in the rainy and non rainy weather, since they are constantly exposed to dust".

If you are one of those lucky householders to have garden space, Tilekeratne's advice is to grow your own home garden. "What could be better and safer than eating the fruits of your own garden which are free from weedicides and pesticides?", he asked." Most of the farmers today overuse pesticide and weedicide, so that all the fruits and vegetables and even grains found in the open market are heavily laced with harmful insecticides. The best alternative is to grow the vegetables and fruits you normally consume in your own garden.

And use cow dung and compost manure made out of fallen leaves in your garden to fertilize the plants, rather than artificial weedicides and pesticides which can cause harm to the body.

Q: You said the fruits, vegetables and even grains found in the open market and supermarkets contain excessive quantities of toxins used by farmers who do not know how to regulate their use. Have any steps been taken either by the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Agriculture to prevent this?

A: The Health Ministry is carrying out various awareness programmes among farmers and the public. The Ministry of Agriculture is also taking steps to formulate and introduce Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for the cultivation of food products.

Q: Apart from food contaminated with pesticides, there has been an increasing number of reports about adulterated food being sold in the open market. Is this true?

A: "Yes. Our food analysts have found that unscrupulous traders and manufacturers now use papaw seeds in pepper packets, poonac in chillie powder and textile dyes to colour turmeric and chillie powder.

Q: What is the Health Ministry doing to prevent the public from being duped into buying these adulterated foods?

A: The only way you can beat them at their game is by making your own homemade spices. They will taste better, and will definitely be safer for the family. The Health Ministry has also developed a system to detect adulteration in food with the help of Authorized Officers appointed under the Food Act. But it is important for the public to co-operate as well since the Ministry alone could not deal with the problem, and inform the Food Unit whenever they come across any adulterated foods being sold in the market.They must also check whether the manufacturer is reliable and ensure that his address is on every packet of spices sold.

Q: Do you have any other advice the public can follow?

A: It is very important to maintain personal hygiene by following simple good habits such as washing hands before meals and after using toilets.

I also wish to emphasise that one should avoid eating exposed food, whether inside a restaurant or on the streets.

Rain or no rain, exposed food, including readymade drinks, get contaminated easily and could lead to hepatitis and typhoid as well as diarrhoea. Parents of schoolchildren must caution their children not to buy ice palams or ice cream from carts or men selling them on cycles which is prepared under unhygienic conditions. If they wish to buy ice cream, they should go to a reputed restaurant where it is stored hygienically.