Seven new diarrhoea patients admitted to Rajpura hospital

Tribune News Service

Patiala, June 20

As seven new diarrhoea patients admitted to the Rajpura Civil Hospital today, the Health Department claimed that situation at the Shamdo camp in Rajpura block of the district was under control. Diarrhoea outbreak has been playing havoc at Shamdo since last week.

Patiala Civil Surgeon Dr Raju Dhir said hospital admissions of diarrhoea patients had already been on decline. He said 16 cases with minor symptoms of diarrhoea were reported at the makeshift dispensary, Shamdo camp, today.

He said lab reports of the stool samples of patient suffering from diarrhoea had ruled out the cholera outbreak. Stool samples were sent to Government Medical College and Government Mata Kaushalya Hospital to see if cholera was a cause of diarrhoea outbreak. Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. He said some lab reports were yet to come which might ascertain the exact cause of the outbreak.

Notably, two kids have died and 215 people have already fallen sick due to diarrhoea at the Shamdo camp. The total population of Shamdo camp is around 1,850, and it is poorly serviced area.

It has been learnt that several residents at the Shamdoo camp still have been using hand pumps, which are already banned by the government. Besides, poor hygiene had been also an issue there.

Meanwhile, the Health Department said they had collected 15 more water samples of different water sources from the outbreak site. Civil Surgeon Raju Dhir said they would continue collecting water samples from the outbreak site.

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