123 Kolkata: With the mercury sliding five degrees since last week, pneumonia and respiratory illnesses have seen a renewed and sharp increase across Kolkata hospitals. While the first spike in respiratory diseases this season was seen days after Kali Puja-Diwali, the mercury slide has triggered a second surge. This time, the number of cases is much higher, say doctors.
At Fortis Hospital, the pulmonary ICU is full, according to consultant pulmonologist Sushmita Roy Chowdhury.IPL 2025 mega auctionIPL Auction 2025 Live: KKR break bank for Venkatesh Iyer, Ashwin returns to CSKIPL 2025 Auction LIVE: Updated Full Team SquadsIPL Auction 2025: Who got whom"Around 90% of patients have pneumonia and suffered exacerbations due to sudden fall in temperature," said Roy Chowdhury. She said a majority of patients were elderly.
Manipal Hospital has ‘many' respiratory diseases patients admitted at ICUs across its Dhakuria and three other units, said infectious diseases physician Sayan Chakrabarty. "The mercury dip has led to a spread of viruses. Meta-pneumo, rhinovirus, and adenovirus have been frequent. We have also got patients with streptococcal pneumoniae. A further spike seems imminent by early Dec," said Chakrabarty.
At Charnock Hospital, the flow of patients with respiratory infections has remained steady for several weeks. "We have 10 patients admitted now, including a couple with pneumonia," said pulmonologist Soumya Sengupta.
At Peerless, cases of RSV, meta-pneumo and other infections have proliferated over the last week. BP Poddar Hospital has 103 patients admitted with upper respiratory tract infections. "Our occupancy is nearly full, and if the trend continues, there will soon be a bed crisis," said Supriyo Chakrabarty, group advisor of BP Poddar. "Weather change with significant day-night temperature fluctuations is among the causes for such incidences," said Rik Banerjee, consultant pulmonologist at BP Poddar.
Desun Hospitals has seen a rise in pneumonia and respiratory-related admissions. This has been triggered by fluctuating weather and pollution, said Mohit Kharbanda, senior director of critical care.