Resident tests positive for cholera

Ritika Jha Palial

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 25

A week after the UT Health Department and the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation ruled out contamination of water supplied in Ram Darbar here, a resident of the area tested positive for cholera today. The sample of water being supplied to the patient’s house has now been sent for a cross-analysis to a public sector laboratory in Kolkata, said the nodal officer for the National Vector-Borne Disease-Control Programme, Chandigarh, Dr Anil Garg.

Of the over 200 residents who reported at the local dispensary and the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, with symptoms of diarrhoea during the past one month, four were suspected to be suffering from cholera. The stool samples of three patients were found negative for cholera while one tested positive.
The patient is at present admitted to the GMCH. A three-year-old boy, Dev, from Ram Darbar Colony had died on December 16 reportedly due to diarrhoea. However, the MC had ruled out contamination of water after testing water samples of the morning and evening supply for three consecutive days on December 14, 15 and 16. Following the boy’s death, the UT Health Department had collected samples of water from the area and sent these for examination to a lab in Mani Majra. The samples were declared fit for consumption. The present confirmation of cholera has led to a confusion among officials over contrasting water sample reports. They have now sent a water sample from the patient’s house for cross-checking.

* Diarrhoea had claimed 2 lives in 2012
In 2012, two persons had died and 50 were affected by diarrhoea in Vikas Nagar Colony in Chandigarh.
* GMCH study
A study titled, “An outbreak of Vibrio cholerae in Vikas Nagar, Chandigarh, India” conducted by a team of doctors from the GMCH to look into the reasons behind the outbreak of diarrhoea in the city in 2012 had found delays in the initiation of investigation of the epidemic and pipe leakages as the main causes.
* How is cholera different from diarrhoea
Cholera is the infection of the small intestine. It is caused by vibrio cholerae found in water contaminated with sewage. Diarrohea is an initial symptom of cholera.