Construction sites across the city could be inadvertently turning into breeding grounds for monsoon-related diseases due to the presence of stagnant water, which often gets contaminated by rat urine and sewage. A girl from Wadala was recently treated for leptospirosis at Cama Hospital after accidentally stepping into a puddle of cement and water at a construction site that she crosses daily on her way to school.

The child had a small cut on her leg, which became infected after coming into contact with the water. Since her father works as a watchman at the hospital, she was rushed there in the nick of time. “This is how even a minor skin injury combined with exposure to contaminated stagnant water around construction sites can potentially lead to dangerous infections during the monsoon,” said Dr Tushar Palve, vice-dean, Cama and Albless Hospital.