Kakinada diarrhoea outbreak: District on alert after 120 cases; officials begin house visits

Kakinada: After the diarrhoea outbreak in the Kakinada district, the health minister issued an alert to implement emergency measures to halt the further spread. In a single day, 21 new cases were reported, taking the count to 67 in Jaggaiahpeta Mandal.

In Kakinada, more than 120 cases were reported so far from three villages due to a contaminated lake near a well—a source of drinking water for the villagers.

Though five deaths were reported, those patients had co-morbid conditions, said the health officials. Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education Y Satya Kumar Yadav visited the Community Health Centre at Jaggaiahpeta to assess the situation and the health of the patients undergoing treatment.

Speaking to NewsMeter, DMHO Dr Narasimha Naik said, “Around 120 diarrhoea cases have been reported from Kakinada district. During the first set of monsoon showers, there are chances of water from ponds and lakes getting contaminated through pipeline leakages or breakage. The same water is used to clean leafy vegetables which could have made the issue worse. All concerned departments have been put on alert, and our teams are going for a house-to-house survey to educate the villagers and bring the situation under control.”

Earlier, on June 14, more than 35 people in Kommanapalli village of Thondangi Mandal have been hospitalised with diarrhoea and a 36-year-old woman died from the symptoms. While four new cases have been reported in Vetlapalem village, the DMHO and a team of doctors visited Vetlapalem and the PHC, where around 32 cases have been reported.

“There are no more new cases in Kommanapalli village and Bendapudi. We have brought the situation under control. We have observed that in Kommanapalli an overhead water tank has not been maintained well, which is one of the reasons for contamination,” said Dr Naik.

Samples collected

The virology department collected water and food samples from Vetlapalem for analysis. “We have asked the teams to inspect the water pipelines for leaks and asked the public to drink only boiled water,” said Dr Naik.

Poor sanitation

Beginning monsoon season, water contamination is the primary cause of all cases reported in the NTR, Kakinada, and Guntur districts. According to minister Satya Kumar, “Poor sanitation and leakages are leading to cross-contamination of pipelines. These cases, reported during the monsoon season, show the government’s poor fund management in the past five years.”