Diarrhoea claims 3-yr-old’s life

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 16

A three-year-old boy, Dev, whose family resides in a colony in Ram Darbar, died this morning after reportedly suffering from diarrhoea for the past two days. The child was rushed to the Emergency at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, early this morning after his condition deteriorated where he was declared brought dead at 6 am.

While the child’s father, Gautam, did not insist on a postmortem, the incident has posed a big question mark over the functioning of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and the UT Health Department as nearly 15 more residents of the area, including the deceased’s mother, were found suffering from diarrhoea.

A visit to the colony in Ram Darbar today revealed that area residents are grappling with the problem of contaminated water supply for the past one month. The water appeared contaminated to the naked eye. However, the authorities are yet to take note of it. Geeta, a 50-year-old resident of the area, said, “Our sarpanch has written several times to the area councillor during the past one month. The water that is being supplied is muddy and carries a foul smell. They took samples only after we informed the Mayor about the child’s death. Were they waiting for this death to take corrective measures?”

5 suspected cases of cholera reported at GMCH

So far, five suspected cases of cholera have been reported from different parts of the city at the GMCH, Sector 32. The reports of the patients will be ready in 72 hours. At present, 12 patients suffering from diarrhoea are admitted to the GMCH and three to the GMSH, Sector 16. The child's death has caused a scare in the area as 10 of the 15 persons suffering are children.

No lessons learnt

In 2012, two persons had died and 50 were affected by diarrhoea in Vikas Nagar Colony in Chandigarh in a similar manner. It was only after the death of an adult and a teenager that the authorities sent a medical team to the area.

Findings of a 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 assess the reasons behind the outbreak of diarrhoea in the city in 2012 had found a delay in the initiation of the 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. Diarrhoea is an initial symptom of cholera.

What officials say

We took samples twice a day during the past three days, but no problem was found in the samples.
VP Singh, mc commissioner

I have directed the nodal officer to examine the matter.

Dr VK Gagneja, ut director (health services)

Our officials made announcements in the area on Tuesday evening asking residents of Ram Darbar and other colonies to use only boiled water. We have collected samples of water from Ram Darbar and sent these for testing.

Dr Anil Garg, ut nodal officer, national vector-borne disease control programme