Forty-two people died of diarrhoea in the last one month as the deadly water-borne disease spread alarmingly throughout the country due to hot and humid weather coupled with scarcity of pure drinking water. According to the control room of the directorate general of health services, 87,173 diarrhoea-affected people had been treated in hospitals last month and 42 of them died. At least 110 died of diarr- hoeal diseases and 3,43,922 were affected since January 1 this year. In southern Noakhali district the situation has worsened with one reported dead and 496 affected in 24 hours till 8:00am on Tuesday. DGHS assistant director Dr Habiba Khatun said that 1,493 people were afflicted by diarrhoea across the country and one of them died during the period. People in Dhaka city are also exposed to water-borne diseases and about 600 diarrhoeal patients on an average are taking treatment in the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Diseases Research, Bangladesh, hospital at Mohakhali. A total of 502 patients visited the ICDDR,B hospital till 3:00pm Tuesday. Most of them came from different parts of the city. Physicians attributed the outbreak to scarcity of pure drinking water and unhygienic environment with slum dwellers and floating people being particularly exposed, said Dr Shahdat Hossain, a scientist at the clinical science division at the ICDDR, B. Diarrhoea is a tropical water-borne disease that weakens the body system due to dehydration. Doctors advise patients to take enough pure water to fight the disease.