21 fall sick after diarrhoea outbreak in Krishna village

VIJAYAWADA: As many as 21 persons took ill in the past three days after a reported outbreak of diarrhoea at Balliparru village in Pamarru Mandal of  Krishna district. An elderly woman, Alivelu Mangatayaru, 67, died in the village on Sunday. However, the district health department officials said Alivelu died of hypertension and glaucoma, not due to diarrhoea. 

Speaking to TNIE, District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) M Suhasini said that a section of villagers fell ill with alleged diarrhoea symptoms on April 28. Alert local health staff started a medical camp in the village and opened an outpatient ward. Asha workers and health staff have been monitoring the persons with diarrhoea symptoms. 

Asked whether drinking water contamination is the reason for the alleged outbreak of diarrhoea, the DMHO said the department sent drinking water samples for testing. The lab reports didn’t reveal contamination of drinking water samples. At present, 21 people have fallen ill. One person among them was undergoing treatment at New Government General Hospital (GGH) and the remaining are being treated at their respective houses with the support of the local medical staff and Asha workers. 

Majority of them are adults and no children fell ill in the village. Suhasini said local medical staff have advised the villagers to drink lukewarm water and avoid non-vegetarian food for the next couple of days. They were also asked to consume ORS and other health supplements to stay hydrated. 

“Once again, we will collect the drinking water samples from the village on Monday and send them to the laboratory for further diagnosis. Besides that, instructions were given to the local sanitation staff to conduct a cleanliness drive in the village. The health camp will be continued until normalcy returns in the village,” the DMHO said.