Hyderabad, Jul 13 (IANS): A top health official of Telangana has blamed "pani puri" for the large number of typhoid cases being registered across the state.

Director of Public Health Dr G. Srinivasa Rao on Tuesday said typhoid can be called 'pani puri' disease, and advised people to avoid it and other street food during the current rainy season to protect themselves from typhoid and other seasonal ailments.

Referring to the habit of many people who gulp down several pieces of 'pani puri' at the roadside shops, he urged them not to ruin their health. "You may get pani puri for Rs 10-15 but tomorrow, you may end up spending Rs 5,000-10,000," he said.

He said vendors should also pay special attention to hygiene and ensure use of safe drinking water.

Rao pointed out that this year, more typhoid cases are being reported. During May, 2,700 cases were reported while this number stood at 2,752 during June.

Contaminated food, water, and mosquitoes are identified as the main causes for seasonal diseases including malaria, acute diarrheal diseases (ADDs), and viral fevers, which have been reported in the past few weeks.

This month alone, 6,000 diarrheal cases were registered across the state. Rao advised people to consume fresh food and boil their drinking water.

He said since January, a total of 1,184 dengue cases have been reported in the state. Hyderabad alone accounted for 516 cases. Almost all the districts reported dengue cases.

As many as 563 dengue cases were registered in June while in the first 10 days of this month, 222 cases were reported.

The state is also reporting malaria cases. He said district medical and health officers have been directed to intensify anti-larval operations. He also urged people to observe every Friday as dry-day to eradicate mosquito menace.

Rao also said though the number of Covid-19 cases has gone up during the last six weeks, people should not panic. He stated that Covid has entered an endemic stage, and the symptoms are common cold and fever.

He also remarked that Covid has also become a seasonal disease. He said if anybody has Covid like symptoms, he should quarantine himself for five days. There is no need for Covid test if a person has no symptoms.

The director of public health said only those Covid patients who have difficulty in breathing should be admitted to hospitals. He also cautioned private hospitals against doing platelet transfusions unnecessarily.