500 ill in Rajasthan,water contamination likely

Reports of such cases began pouring in on July 17 from the neighbouring Alwar district. It has now spread to Jaipur district. As per our figures,there have been 479 cases so far,including 234 children and 125 adults, Dr Thakkan said. He added that all patients showed similar symptoms of diarrhoea,vomiting and abdominal pain.

Though Dr Thakkan believes that the disease was not fatal and that most patients recovered in a few days,the Health Department authorities could not explain the cause of the disease. At Alwar,where the disease was first reported,CMHO Dr C Dhanawat stated that 50 samples of water from various spots had been tested so far but to no avail. We have sent more samples to the lab and should have some information within 48 hours, he said. He added that after the initial cases in Alwar,most cases were reported from villages in Kotputli.

According to senior health officials water contamination from chemical industrial units in Alwar could be a cause. A senior Health Department official stated that samples of water had been taken and sent to the lab for testing on July 20,but the analysis had not been completed yet.