Jamnagar (Gujarat), Feb 10 (PTI) As many as 15 cholera cases have been reported in Dhararnagar area of Jamnagar city over the last three days, with officials suspecting that contaminated drinking water led to the outbreak.
A notification declaring Dhararnagar and the area in its 2-km radius as “cholera-affected” was issued on Monday by district collector K B Thakkar under the Epidemic Diseases Act following a recommendation by the Jamnagar Municipal Corporation (JMC).
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It can cause severe diarrhoea and dehydration, and prove fatal if untreated.
“Since February 8, as many as 37 persons living in Dhararnagar have been admitted to hospital after complaining of vomiting and diarrhea. Of these, 15 were found infected with cholera while the reports of others are awaited,” said JMC medical officer Dr Haresh Gori.
The disease is suspected to have been caused by contaminated drinking water following leakage in the underground water pipeline, said Dr Gori, adding that the civic body was repairing the leakages on a war footing.
“Water supply has been stopped in the area as a precautionary measure. Many residents had taken illegal water connections and used the underground sewer network to lay those pipes. We have so far disconnected six such pipelines,” he said.
The situation was under control and there has been no death due to cholera, Dr Gori said.
Twenty-seven health teams have been deployed in the area to conduct house-to-house surveys and they have covered the entire area twice over the last three days, he said.
“We have distributed 90,000 chlorine tablets, started an OPD in the area to treat patients, and started repairing leakages on a war footing,” said Gori. PTI COR PJT PD KRK
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