Typhoid and viral fever cases have increased across Andhra Pradesh over the past 15 days, with government health facilities reporting larger outpatient crowds and doctors linking the rise to changing weather, recent rains and possible contamination of drinking water.
Primary health centres that normally see around 40 to 50 patients a day are receiving between 60 and 70 patients in several locations, according to the report. The increase has been reported across the Rayalaseema districts as well as Krishna, Guntur and the East and West Godavari districts.
Data from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme indicate that Kurnool and YSR Kadapa are among the districts reporting a high number of typhoid cases. Some hospitals are seeing fever patients crowding outpatient departments, while teaching hospitals in several locations are facing pressure on beds because of the increased patient inflow.
At the Kamalapuram urban primary health centre in YSR Kadapa district, Dr M Munishekhar said daily attendance had risen from about 40 patients to more than 60. He added that at least two out of every 10 patients were being diagnosed with typhoid. The doctor advised residents to drink boiled and cooled water and maintain precautions against water-borne infections.
The rise in cases has also increased pressure on hospital services. More than 2,500 outpatients were treated at hospitals in Kurnool on Monday, according to the report. A patient from Kosigi, identified as S Ramanamma, said she waited for more than three hours to see a doctor and was unable to collect medicines after a further two-hour wait because of the crowd.
The reported increase has raised concerns about access to timely treatment in rural areas, where some fever patients are turning to rural medical practitioners. The report also said some patients had alleged that private hospitals were charging between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 for platelet transfusions after claiming that their platelet counts had fallen. The allegations were not independently verified in the report.
The Andhra Pradesh Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation said emergency medicines had been kept available across the state because of seasonal diseases. APMSIDC general manager Sadhu Srinivas said paracetamol and different antibiotics were being supplied and that there was no shortage of medicines anywhere.
Health officials have advised residents to take precautions against contaminated water and seek medical attention if fever persists or symptoms worsen. The reported link to drinking-water contamination points to the importance of monitoring water quality and local sanitation during the rainy season, although the report does not identify specific contamination sites or provide laboratory findings. Authorities’ next steps include continued treatment at government facilities, medicine availability and monitoring of fever cases across affected districts.
