During my past five years in India, I've had a wide range of monsoon related-illnesses, the latest being malaria. Unfortunately, there's been a huge outbreak of it in Mumbai this monsoon season, as a result of the incessant heavy rain.
The troublesome thing is that many monsoon related illnesses share similar symptoms (such as fever and body ache). Initially, it can be difficult to know what you're suffering from. However, based on my experience, although the symptoms may be the same, there are some noticeable distinctions in the way that they occur.
- Viral Fever -- a long lasting and intense fever, accompanied by severe chills and body ache. I had it twice in Varkala, Kerala a few years ago. Both times, it lasted for three days, then went away as quickly as it came.
- Dengue Fever -- a long lasting fever, plus swollen and painful joints, and a rash. After the fever, my finger and toe joints swelled and started hurting, and I got a pin-prick looking rash over my legs, arms and torso.
- Malaria -- a short lasting, recurring fever, accompanied by chills and body ache. The short duration and recurrence of symptoms are what really distinguish malaria from other illnesses. My fever and chills lasted around five hours at a time, but returned every second day (consistent with the parasite life cycle). It felt like the start of a flu that would mysteriously come and go.
The types and severity of both dengue fever and malaria are variable. I had mild cases of both (including P.vivax malaria, as opposed to the life threatening P.falciparum). However, when dealing with malaria, you must get it treated as soon as possible, before the parasite has a chance to affect too many red blood cells. Treatment of uncomplicated cases is quite straightforward, and can simply consist of taking a series of tablets.
If you're concerned about the possibility of catching any of these illnesses in India, the most important thing to keep in mind is the climate. The prevalence of illness does vary every year, and from place to place in India. Malaria isn't a real issue in India during the dry winters, but outbreaks of it do occur during the monsoon, particularly when it's raining constantly. Last monsoon in Mumbai, dengue fever was more of a problem as the rain was intermittent. This year, dengue is spreading in Delhi.
More About Health in India:
Hi Sharell..I ‘discovered’ your column a few months ago and I wish to congratulate you on
your excellent articles on India travel. Thank you.
I am a 58 year old South African male and I plan to depart for Mumbai next week. I am coming
over to India to attend to family business in Surat. I am aware of the extreme heat prevailing
right now in Maharastra and Gujerat, so, the last thing I want is to come over there and fall ill!
When I arrived in Mumbai two years ago, (at exactly the same time of the year), I fell severely
ill within 5 hours of my arrival. I put it down to “change of weather”!
Would you advise me to depart for India now? I can delay my trip for 3 weeks if I have to. Or
alternatively, I can arrive in Delhi if the diseases are less severe there. I do intend going back-packing
towards Kashmir after attending to business, but I am flexible enough to do things the other way
around. Your advice would be most appreciated.
(Please forgive me if I have used the incorrect channel here to contact you. I am not “internet savvy” and
I send you this note via BlackBerry. )
Hi Ahmed, thanks for writing. I’m glad you find my articles useful. You’re most welcome to contact me using this channel.
This time of year really is a difficult one. Even if you delay your trip by a few weeks, you’ll be getting into the post-monsoon period which produces a dramatic change in weather conditions on its own, and tends to be really hot and uncomfortable. People continue to get ill in October due to this change in weather. I would say take the chance and come anyway. Delhi’s weather at this time of year tends to be really unstable — on-off rain, heat and humidity (there is a growing problem of Dengue there this year too). Mumbai’s weather at the moment is mild temperature wise, but very rainy (although it’s easing off these days, thankfully). I would still choose Mumbai to arrive in, but make sure you take extra precautions with your health. My view is if you’re going to get sick, you will regardless of where you land in India this time of year… it can be quite a shock to the system. Hopefully you’ll be fine though. I wish you as safe trip!
Monsoon season health tips: http://goindia.about.com/od/planningyourtrip/qt/monsoonhealth.htm
Bonjour Sharell! Very interesting article, poor you that you have had all these illnesses, but i love it that you write about it, every experience is an opportunity! Love and strength to you sweetie, glad you’re feeling better. Love Dommi and tribe xox
Bonjour Dommi!! Thanks for commenting and all your good wishes. It certainly is an adventure and gives me plenty to write about. Plus, I’m glad to have had these experiences, even though they’re not always the best!
Dear shareel –
Enjoying reading your blog.
I have been to India several times (my wife is from Kerala). This year i plan to come end october to take a week course at the Yoga institute in Santa Cruz (will stay at a hotel somewhere near the int. airport in Andheri).
Never was concerened about health matters here…
but i do understand this year is different.
Ill ask you a direct question: would you avoid traveling to Mumbai this post monsoon period??
Thanks alot.
Tal
Hi Tal, in all honesty, you know what India’s like…its difficult to actually predict what the conditions will be like then! There’s an outbreak of Dengue in Delhi at the moment and the same thing could very well happen in Mumbai… Dengue does seem to be on the rise here at the moment. You can take precautions against getting bitten by mosquitoes though, and you should be okay — there’s not a huge chance of you getting sick if you’re careful (most people living here, including me, aren’t). Plus, hopefully by the end of October, the weather should be settling down a bit, the worst of it should be over. So in conclusion, if it’s easy to delay your plans a little — do it just to be on the safe side. Otherwise, still come but just be careful. Hope this helps.