As many as 44 people are suffering from diarrhoea following the spread of jaundice in 10 villages of Hamirpur district in Himachal Pradesh, officials said on Friday. The affected villages fall under four panchayats of Kot, Sarahkad, Bharanang and Khyah.
The first case was reported on June 26 and since then the numbers are increasing, they said. Sarahkad panchayat pradhan Poonam said 16 people have so far been affected by jaundice in her panchayat. She said awareness is being created about the symptoms and prevention of the disease.
According to officials, various teams of the health department are screening people and the numbers are expected to rise further. However, the silver lining is that the majority of the patients are being treated at home. Meanwhile, the Jal Shakti department maintained that no contamination was found in samples of drinking water taken in the past two days. The reports of blood samples of patients taken by the health department are still awaited.
Deputy Commissioner, Hamirpur, Hemraj Bairwa on Friday instructed the officials of the department to train the field staff regarding proper use of bleaching powder and chlorination in water bodies.
He also instructed them to explore the possibilities of gaseous chlorination in the drinking water schemes of the district, and called for arranging a gaseous chlorination system within 15 days for the drinking water of Sarahkar-Kot area.
"Explore possibilities of gaseous chlorination in other drinking water schemes of the district and take quick steps in this direction," Bairwa told the officials. The deputy commissioner further said that apart from community health workers and ASHA workers, cooperation of local panchayat public representatives can also be sought to create awareness.
He asserted that there should be adequate supply of medicines and other essential materials as well as chlorine tablets related to water borne diseases in the field. Apart from this, regular sampling and testing of drinking water should be ensured, he said. In January, over 1,000 people in 50 villages of Nadaun subdivision of Hamirpur suffered from diarrhoea following the outbreak of water-borne diseases.
