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Cholera claims 3 lives in Dharmapuri villages

By Our Staff Reporter

Dharmapuri June 14. A culture test of stool samples of those affected by consuming contaminated water supplied to around 60 villages in Dharmapuri and Morappur union has revealed an outbreak of cholera.

On June 10, 50 persons from villages receiving water from the Irumathur Comprehensive Water Supply Scheme were rushed to the hospital with severe vomiting and diarrhoea.

Two persons reportedly succumbed to cholera at Mookanoor in the Dharmapuri union today taking the number of persons killed so far to three.

A 60-year-old woman, Chinnakannu, was reported dead due to acute gastroenteritis on June 11.

The following day, many more were rushed to the hospital with similar symptoms. The district administration set up medical camps at T. Thurinjipatti, Nadupatti, Solakottai, Kambainallur and Nayakankottai. Also, all government vehicles were rushed to the villages to transport those affected to the camps.

As many as 216 persons including 75 children received treatment in the Dharmapuri Government Hospital while over 300 persons were provided treatment in the medical camps.

The affected included 150 children and two of them had to be taken to the Salem Government Hospital.

But since then the number of cases has reduced considerably.

Meanwhile, as a preventive measure, antibiotics are being distributed in all affected villages.

The Deputy Director (Public Health), Sampathkumar, today said that "since the crisis has been approached as cholera, the line of treatment and management have been based on that and hence there remains no room for panic. All preventive measures have been taken on a war-footing and the medical camps continue to function round the clock."

At present, all out efforts are being made to improve the sanitation in the affected villages by forming committees involving local body leaders.

Campaign through vans and posters on clean sanitation practices has also been taken up on a big scale.

The Information and Publicity Minister, P. Anbazhagan, and the Animal Husbandry Minister, P.V. Dhamodaran, visited those admitted in the hospital and the affected villages on Friday and held enquiries.

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