7 die, 150 fall sick due to diarrhoea, water-borne diseases in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandla district

Mandla (MP), July 27

Seven persons, including five women and a child, have died and 150 have taken ill due to diarrhoea and water-borne diseases in the past ten days in Madhya Pradesh’s tribal-dominated Mandla district, officials said on Saturday.

District Epidemic Control Officer Dr Yatindra Jharia said four persons in Devraha Bahmani village of Ghughri block and three from Madhopur village under Bichhia block lost their lives due to diarrhoea, mostly caused by food and water contamination.

The seventh person, a resident of Madhopur village, died during treatment at the district hospital on Friday.

About 150 people have become sick because of diarrhoea and water-borne diseases in the two blocks, he said. Some patients from the Ghughri block have been referred to the district hospital for treatment.

Jharia said health teams are trying to bring diarrhoea under control in these areas besides spreading awareness.

An official had said on Friday that three men, including a father-son duo, had died due to diarrhoea and six others contracted the disease in two villages of Umaria district. The area health supervisor was suspended after the cases came to light, while two other officials were served show-cause notices, he had said.

According to the World Health Organisation, a significant proportion of diarrhoeal disease can be prevented through safe drinking water and adequate sanitation and hygiene.