Two more diarrhoea deaths in Panipat; toll rises to nine in three months

A day after a two-year-old boy from Desraj Colony succumbed to suspected diarrhoea, two more deaths — a woman and her five-year-old son — were reported from the same locality on Monday, taking the diarrhoea toll in Panipat to nine in the past three months. Six of these have occurred in just the last eight days.

The deceased were identified as Rekha (40) and her son Aakash (5).

Suresh Chand, husband of Rekha and father of Aakash, said his son had been suffering from loose motions and vomiting for three days. “I bought medicine from a local store but his condition worsened. On Monday night, my wife also developed diarrhoea. I admitted my son to a private hospital, but he was referred to the civil hospital. I rushed my wife there as well in the early hours. Sadly, both were declared dead,” he said.

Following the incident, police conducted postmortems and handed over the bodies to the family. Inspector Mukesh Kumar, SHO, Tehsil Camp, said, “The family’s history mentions diarrhoea and vomiting in both mother and son. The actual cause of death will be clear only after postmortem reports.”

The Health Department has launched an investigation. Dr Rinku Sangwan, District Health Officer, confirmed, “Two more deaths were reported from Desraj Colony, but the exact cause has not been established. Patient history indicates diarrhoea and vomiting, though confirmation will come only after investigation and reports.”

Health teams have since collected 22 water samples from Desraj Colony, Sector 25, Raj Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Batra Colony, Sector 11/12, and other parts of the city.

Dr Vijay Malik, Chief Medical Officer, said, “Both patients were brought dead to the civil hospital. Teams will be sent to their home and neighbourhood for a thorough probe before confirmation.”