Jamnagar (Gujarat), February 10 As many as 15 cases of cholera have been reported in the 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 within a 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 diarrheal infection caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It can cause severe diarrhea and dehydration, and can be fatal if left untreated.
"Since February 8, as many as 37 people living in Dhararnagar have been admitted to the hospital after complaining of vomiting and diarrhea. Of these, 15 were found to be infected with cholera, while the results of the others are still pending," said JMC medical officer Dr Haresh Gori.
The disease is suspected to have been caused by contaminated drinking water due to a leak in the underground water pipeline, said Dr Gori, adding that the civic body was repairing the leakages urgently.
"Water supply has been stopped in the area as a precautionary measure. Many residents had illegally connected themselves to the water supply and were using the underground sewer network to lay those pipes. We have so far disconnected six such pipelines," he said.
The situation is under control, and there have been no deaths 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 (Outpatient Department) in the area to treat patients, and started repairing the leakages urgently," said Gori.
