In the past 24 hours, 32 people, including children and women, have fallen sick due to a diarrhoea outbreak in Patran block of Patiala district. Health officials reported this on Sunday. Out of the 32 patients, 29 are receiving treatment at the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Patran. Health teams have already arrived at the outbreak site in Ward number 15, Patran town.
Patiala health officials revealed that nine cases were reported on Saturday evening, with another 12 cases emerging during the night. The situation worsened on Sunday with 11 more cases, bringing the total to 32.
Patiala’s civil surgeon, Dr. Sanjay Goyal, said health teams are conducting door-to-door surveys in the affected area to find more cases and quickly move them to medical facilities. “We have distributed ORS packets to the residents of the affected area to recover from diarrhoea and handed over 1,250 chlorine tablets to the residents to ensure the potability of the drinking water,” Goyal said, after visiting the patients at CHC-Patran.
Diarrhoea is often caused by infections in the intestinal tract from various bacteria, viruses, and parasites. These infections spread through contaminated food or water or from person to person due to poor hygiene.
Dr. Divjot Singh, the district epidemiologist, stated that they collected six water samples to check for contamination and six stool samples to determine if cholera is the cause of the outbreak. Cholera is a severe diarrhoeal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, usually from eating or drinking contaminated food or water.
Health officials conducting the door-to-door survey believe that illegal water connections and sewerage blockages might have triggered the outbreak. “Every second household in the area has an illegal open plastic pipe connection with the main water supply line. Leakages in the main water supply line of the village could be the possible reason for the outbreak,” said a senior health officer, who wished to remain anonymous.
The community is urged to take precautions and follow health guidelines to prevent further spread of the infection. The local health authorities are working hard to control the outbreak and provide necessary medical support to the affected families.