Pune: A significant increase in infections has been reported by city doctors due to the huge difference in day and night temperatures over the last few days. The diurnal variation in the city has widened to over 22 degrees C over the past week, with day temperature hovering in the mid-30-degree-C mark and night temperature around 13 degrees C or lower.On Monday, city's day temperature hovered around 34.9 degrees C, while minimum temperature stood at 12.2 degrees C. Doctors attributed an increase in cases of respiratory tract infections, allergic asthma in children, typhoid cases, adult chicken pox, and fungal infections of skin due to the fluctuating mercury, among other reasons.Family physician Avinash Bhondwe said respiratory viral and bacterial infections are on the rise in the form of sore throat, sinusitis, and bronchitis, among others. "A 20% increase in all infections has been observed over the last few days due to the wide temperature difference in the city. There are chances of swine flu activation in the current season, though no cases have been reported so far. Also, an increase in stomach flu cases has been observed due to people's tendency to eat stale food or consume contaminated water during this season," said Bhondwe.He added that there have also been some cases of adult chicken pox in the city, seen mostly in college students. "I have had six students in the last 15 days with adult chicken pox, including those who were vaccinated against the virus. The incidence of the infection affecting a vaccinated person is, however, less," said Bhondwe.According to general practitioner Sunil Paigude, infections like typhoid, measles and chicken pox have been increasing. "The increasing trend has been observed over the last 20 days, since the temperature began fluctuating. Almost two out of 100 patients complain of dizziness, cramps in legs and dehydration after sun exposure, which is a form of heat exhaustion. We have seen a 20% rise in patients with viral infections, upper and lower respiratory tract infections, among others, over the last two weeks or so," said Paigude.General practitioner Santosh Gosawi has seen a 40% rise in infections in the city over the past few days. "The temperature variation in Pune is one of the causes, making people fall prey to stomach infections, viral infections such as chicken pox and fungal infections of the skin caused by profuse sweating," he said.Family physician Santaji Kadam reported a 50% increase in the overall incidence of infections during the current period, including cases of viral fever, coughing, dehydration, vomiting, among others. "Allergic asthma is affecting children below one year of age in the current season. Respiratory tract infections have thus increased among children over the last few days," said Kadam.Another paediatrician explained that temperature fluctuations can enable infections to enter the body easily, as the body loses its ability to adapt readily to an environment that is constantly changing from being too hot to being too cold and vice versa. He said that this is especially true of children, who are more prone to infections.Graphic:Difference between maximum and minimum temp in Pune over the last few days:Date---Maximum---Minimum---differenceFebruary 21--- 34.1---12.3---21.8February 22--- 35.9--13.0---22.9February 23--- 36.7--- 13.8---22.9February 24---36.5---14.0---22.5February 25--- 33.8---13.4---20.4February 26--- 34.7---11.9---22.8February 27---34.9---12.2---22.7Precautions:Avoid going out early morning when the temperature is too lowAvoid cold drinks, ice creams and ice cold waterCover up when out in the sun to evade skin infectionsAfter sun exposure, wait a while before drinking waterKeep ears and head covered when out in the coldDrink pure waterEom/neha

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