Karaikal diarrhoea outbreak declared ‘health emergency’

KARAIKAL: The Directorate of Health and Family Welfare in Puducherry has declared the diarrhoea outbreak in Karaikal district a ‘public health emergency’. According to Health Services Department, over 1,600 people in Karaikal district suffered from diarrhoea and stomach pain-related ailments in the past two weeks. Among them, 700 were admitted to hospitals and primary health centres. Around 17 were also tested for cholera. 

G Sriramulu, director of Health and Family Welfare Department, said, “All remedial and managerial steps are being taken in coordination with PWD, Health Department and local bodies. People have been advised to drink only boiled water, wash their hands well with soap before eating, avoid open defecation and report to hospitals on seeing even mild symptoms. People have also been told to immediately report about leaks in drinking water supply lines, if any.”

Sriramulu visited the district for a second time in the past one week, with a team of doctors and health experts from Puducherry’s Indira Gandhi Medical College & Research Institute. They inspected places where most cases have been reported and analysed the condition of drinking water.