Chandigarh, February 16 Local residents in Panicked claimed that more people had died due to liver-related ailments in a village in Haryana's Palwal district, even as authorities put the death toll at seven in the past fortnight, prompting the health department to monitor the situation around the clock.
Seven deaths, four of them due to Hepatitis B, were reported in Chhainsa village in the Hathin sub-division over the past two weeks, officials said.
The health department has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the deaths. While a preliminary investigation suggests that viral Hepatitis and possible water contamination were responsible, confirmation is pending laboratory reports.
Four of the deceased were schoolchildren who died between January 31 and February 11.
Some villagers claimed that the number of deaths was higher. They also claimed that a lack of clean drinking water had aggravated the situation.
Mohd Imran, a villager, told reporters that 15-20 people had died in the village in the past three weeks, and that the number could be more.
Mohd Tahir, another villager, said that there was an atmosphere of fear in the village after so many deaths.
He also alleged that the drinking water in the village was contaminated and often unfit for consumption.
The village, located about 30 km from the district headquarters, has a population of nearly 5,700 people, and the deaths have prompted the authorities to deploy teams and test the blood samples of the residents.
Three of the seven who died also had liver infections, which could be water-borne or due to food poisoning, the officials said.
Many in the village work as drivers, spending long periods away from home, while some are farmers.
A health department official said that one of the deceased, a truck driver, fell ill outside the state and rushed back home for treatment.
The seven people who died included two boys aged 9 and 14, two girls aged 9 and 15, a 42-year-old man, a 22-year-old man, and a 67-year-old woman, the officials said.
The officials said that four of the deceased tested positive for Hepatitis B, which is a serious liver infection caused by the Hepatitis B Virus.
The health department is collecting blood samples for testing, the officials said, adding that bacteriological sampling of drinking water sources is also being conducted.
Those who died showed symptoms like fever, vomiting, weakness, and abdominal pain.
Palwal Deputy Commissioner Harish Kumar Vashishth, who visited the village on Sunday, told