A 12-year old girl, Bhuvaneshwari, died while more than 100 villagers of M. Thoppampatti near Harur in Dharmapuri district were admitted to hospital with symptoms of gastroenteritis on Tuesday.
The villagers claimed that contaminated water was the reason behind the outbreak.
Health officials said since early Tuesday morning, the Primary Health Centre at Morappur started receiving a steady stream of affected villagers, who complained of nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea.
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As the PHC could not handle all the cases, 22 of them had been taken to Harur Government Hospital. Sixty persons were undergoing treatment at the PHC.
Harur MLA P. Dilli Babu visited the village. A team of officials from the Health Department are camping in the village.
A senior health official said that the villagers, particularly a section from the nearby colony, had taken stale food at a marriage party on Monday. “It could be owing to food poisoning too,” he said. Samples had been collected for laboratory tests and precautionary measures taken.
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