Diarrhoea grips Majri village, 403 cases in two days

Around 297 diarrhoea patients were reported on Sunday while 106 cases were detected till Monday evening. While seven of the critical cases were shifted to the PGI and GMSH-16 in Chandigarh, 50 others were admitted at a makeshift health centre set up at the community centre in the village. No casualty has been reported yet.

To tackle the epidemic, two medical specialists, a medical team and an ambulance have been stationed at the village.

“We are providing free treatment and medicines to the patients and spreading health awareness in the village,” said Dr Surila. He added that 10 water samples were collected from different sources on Monday for tests.

Preliminary investigations by the District Health department revealed that a leak in the water supply pipeline to the village had caused the epidemic. The villagers who subsisted on water from handpumps were not affected while those who drank tap water had fallen ill.

Water supply to the village was suspended on Sunday. On Monday, the Water Supply and Sanitation department plugged the leak and restored supply.

Refuting the Health department’s claim, Executive Engineer of the Water Supply and Sanitation department, Partap Singh, said: “We supply water to four villages — Majri, Fatehpur, Sialba and Khera — from the same two tubewells installed at Fatehpur. No where except Majri was this problem reported.”

However, four teams have been deputed to plug any minor leaks in the connections. The engineer said he suspected the use of booster pumps may have contaminated the water.

DOCTOR’S ADVICE

* Drinking water should not contain any suspended particles

* Drinking water should be boiled/chlorinated before consumption

* Avoid eating overripe fruits and vegetables