The Nashik ASHA workers from all over the district, together with other health professionals and medical officers from rural Nashik, would visit homes to deliver oral rehydration solution (ORS) packets and zinc pills as part of the enhanced diarrhea control fortnight.

This initiative, according to additional district health officer Dr. Kailas Bhoye, will begin on July 1 and aims to raise as much awareness as possible among the public about the necessary actions to be taken when children under the age of five suffer from diarrhea, particularly during the monsoon season, when the likelihood of contracting the Rotavirus, which causes diarrhea, is increased. Additionally, consuming contaminated food or water or practicing poor hygiene both increased the frequency of diarrhea.

He further added that during the rainy season, many villages and remote settlements become cut off making the supply of essential items and medication difficult. So, every household with children must have ORS powder and zinc pills available for giving to the newborns in case of a diarrhea outbreak in the affected villages. The health professionals will also provide demonstrations in the villages on how to prepare and administer the ORS solution to infants in the event of diarrhea. Meanwhile for enhancing the awareness about diarrhea and its management several Oral Rehydration Treatment (ORT) corners will also be established in primary health centres. (Times of India, Jun 29, 2022)