Minister warns against late reporting of diseases during monsoon

MUMBAI: Late reporting of illness has been found to be the main cause of deaths due to diseases during the last year's monsoon, Maharashtra Health Minister Deepak Sawant said on Friday. Talking to PTI, Sawant said an audit of the deaths last monsoon found that in most cases, patients did not seek the medical help immediately. With the onset of monsoon, he has instructed municipal corporations and local bodies to ensure adequate medicine stocks, he said. Authorities have also been asked to prepare isolation wards for patients of swine flu, malaria, dengue and leptospirosis, he said.