Dr. Dipshikha Ghosh, who is attending to a patient with a life-threatening lung infection following a dip in the Maha Kumbh currently ongoing, has advised people not to ‘undermine science’. The patient is now on ventilation and prone position as the condition was critical. Dr. Ghosh’s warning comes in the wake of a report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which reported to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that water quality at several spots in Prayagraj does not comply with primary bathing standards. This is due to excessive faecal coliform in the water.
What is Faecal Coliform?
Faecal coliform is a major sewage contamination indicator and must not be more than 2,500 units per 100 ml, according to CPCB standards. Surpassing this level causes many health hazards like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, typhoid, cholera, skin infections, and other critical infections. In the report presented by the CPCB, it was emphasized that at all locations observed in Prayagraj during the Maha Kumbh Mela, the water quality did not fulfill the standard for primary bathing, especially when it comes to faecal coliform. Millions of individuals are bathing in the river, mostly on sacred days, and this elevates the level of faecal contamination.
Doctor Shares Warning
Dr. Ghosh, in her X (formerly Twitter) post, said, “I have a patient here with a serious lung infection due to water from Kumbh having gone up her nostrils while she took a dip. She can’t breathe independently now and has had to be ventilated and proned.” She further said, “Religion is fine, sure, but don’t go undermining science. Be aware. Be careful.”
Social Media Reactions
The social media response to Dr. Ghosh’s post was a mix. A person wrote, “Perhaps she doesn’t know how to take a dip. You have to shut your nose and mouth. Army Major choked to death after lamb bone lodged in his windpipe. Will you tell people to refrain from eating meat with bones or ask the Major for questioning his gallantry? Do the right thing.”
Another user asked, “It’s odd. Couldn’t it be other factors that drove her to this? Crores of people have gone for a dip, Hearing the first case, what percentage do you think had to be ventilated? Asking in all seriousness.”
Third person remembered their own experience and said, “True. I had only once made a dip at Kanpur Cantt in 1983 while of 06-month hospital internship at AF Hospital Kanpur. We 14 walked near the ghat. Abandoned after seeing floating corpses of dead humans and animals Never again. River Brahmaputra is much clean.”
Dr. Ghosh also posted a post by Dr. Cyriac Abby Philips, commonly referred to as “The Liver Doctor,” wherein he had explained how junior doctors had harassed him for presenting facts on how high the levels of faecal bacteria in the Ganga were at Prayagraj. Dr. Philips posted on X, “I was abused and harassed by some groups of doctors including very junior doctors on Twitter for posting facts based on scientific wisdom, which is now supported by objective evidence.”