An outbreak of acute diarrhoeal disease (ADD) in the coastal wards 10 and 11 of Athiyannur block in Karumkulam grama panchayat has prompted the Health Department to launch immediate control measures to prevent more people from falling ill.
A total of 35 people have reported sick in the locality for the past two days. Most of the cases have been treated as outpatients, while five people have been admitted to the Pulluvila community health centre (CHC).
All those admitted are stable and recovering, health officials said.
With reports of more people seeking treatment for moderate diarrhoeal disease and vomiting at the Pulluvila CHC, local private hospitals, and the General Hospital here, a team of doctors visited the locality and Pulluvila CHC on Thursday to assess the situation. Senior health officials said that health workers had been told to be on alert as cholera had been reported from the area in 2013.
However, after taking a detailed history of food and water intake of the patients and going by the available evidence, the current outbreak seemed to be an episode of ADD, probably due to some contamination in water supply in the area, they said.
Apart from the KWA water supply, the locality also has the panchayat’s water supply scheme. Many households also use water from their own borewells for drinking. The team has collected water and stool samples for testing.
Health advisory
The public should take necessary precautions to prevent the spread of any water-borne diseases, a statement issued by the Health Department said.
Only boiled and cooled water should be used for drinking and food should be cooked hygienically and kept well covered. People have been advised to avoid consuming stale food and to make sure that fruits and vegetables are scrubbed and washed well using drinking water before consumption. Sanitation and frequent hand-washing were of utmost importance.
Meanwhile, Health Minister K.K. Shylaja has asked the Health Department to ensure that all treatment facilities, including an ORS (oral rehydration salts) counter, were available at the Pulluvila CHC. She has also ordered an inquiry into reports that unsafe drinking water was being supplied in the area from Karichal and Kumily pump houses. Safe drinking water will be supplied in tankers in the locality, if necessary, a statement issued by the Minister said.
