E-Paper
Two cholera cases detected at Pinjore slum
The incident came to the fore after a 10-year-old girl suffering from diarrhoea was discharged from a Baddi hospital but later died
Two cases of cholera have been reported after a water sample and stool sample collected following diarrhea deaths in Shahpur were found to be infected.
This comes three days after two suspected diarrhoea-related deaths were reported and over 70 people—mostly children of a migrant colony in Shahpur village, Pinjore—were hospitalised. Water samples were taken randomly from the water tanker that supplied water to the colony, and were reported unfit for consumption.
Speaking about this, Panchkula civil surgeon Dr Yogesh Sharma said, “The water used to come from a tubewell to an open water tank built here. A team also visited again and took samples from the shanties. The children who died in Baddi are suspected diarrhoeal deaths,” he said.
The team had taken stool samples of the patients to determine the actual cause of the disease, one of which tested positive for cholera on Friday.
SLUM IS UNAUTHORISED
Officials said the slum area that falls on the Haryana-Himachal Pradesh border is unauthorised and the land belongs to a village sarpanch. Sources said the people living in shanties there have reportedly created unhygienic surroundings making it vulnerable to diseases.
On Friday, a team of health department again visited the area and met the families. “Other cases were mild and most of them have been discharged. We are taking all preventive measures,” added the civil surgeon.
After getting information on Tuesday, a team of health department had swung into action, getting patients admitted to hospitals in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, and Panchkula. The health team had collected water samples from a tank constructed near the house of village sarpanch, through which residents of more than 300 shanties collected water for daily consumption.
The incident came to the fore after a 10-year-old girl suffering from diarrhoea was discharged from a Baddi hospital but later died. A 3-year-old girl also died in a similar manner.
