17 May 2010
Madurai, India
Four persons have died due to cholera in Theni district, and over 600 people have been treated for diarrhoea in the last six days, causing fear in Uthamapalayam and surrounding regions of the district.
“Four deaths were confirmed cases of cholera. Seven samples were tested in the last few days and four tested positive for cholera,” Dr S Chelladurai, deputy director of health services, Theni, told TOI. As many as 234 patients in Theni and 186 in Uthamapalayam and its neighbouring villages had been treated for diarrhoea-related diseases.
The outbreak of diarrhoea was also reported from Chinnamanur, Bodi and other areas of Theni district. More than 100 persons were admitted to the government medical college in Theni and government hospitals, PHCs and private hospitals. Disease caused due to mixing of sewage with drinking water Madurai: Four persons have died due to cholera in Theni district in the past six days. These deaths have caused panic among the people who fear that cholera spreading in the area would claim more lives.
On Sunday, nearly 150 persons were admitted to the Chinnamanur government hospital. The cause of the disease is said to be the mixing of sewage with drinking water.
Pavithra (10) of Uthamapalayam died at the government hospital there on April 12. The government paid a solatium of Rs one lakh to her parents. Now cases of cholera have been reported. Five persons admitted to the government medical college in Theni have been diagnosed with cholera. Kannan (50) from Pannaipuram who was admitted to the medical college hospital on Friday died on Saturday due to cholera.
Vijayalakshmi (60) of Pannaipuram, had been suffering from diarrhoea for the past four days and she was treated at home. She died on Saturday and the cause was found to be cholera.
People in Chinnamanur, Pannaipuram, Dawaram and Uthamapalayam depend on the three filter pits on the bed of the Periyar river for water. The river water had been less than two feet deep till about a week ago when water was released from the dam for the Veerapandi temple festival. This release of water had led to the sewage entering the filter pits and contaminating the drinking water, officials say.
Disclaimer: The news story on this page is the copyright of the cited publication. This has been reproduced here for visitors to review, comment on and discuss. This is in keeping with the principle of ‘Fair dealing’ or ‘Fair use’. Visitors may click on the publication name, in the news story, to visit the original article as it appears on the publication’s website.