Diarrhoea claims six more lives in Guntur; toll reaches 9

Guntur: The number of deaths due to diarrhoea in city climbed to nine on Wednesday with another six persons succumbing to disease, in addition to three deaths reportedly on Monday and Tuesday.

Dozens of people were hospitalised in parts of city with the ailment caused by contaminated  On Wednesday, Padmavati,45, of from Sangadigunta, A Venkata Rao,61, a residing of Balajinagar died in the Government General Hospital (GGH) while undergoing treatment.  

Chinabalakoti Reddy,65,. of Ziauddin Nagar and  Samrajyam,45, a residing at Gudivadavari Street succumbed in a private hospitals. Another 56 patients are undergoing treatment in the GGH where two special wards have been set up for those suffering from diarrhoea.

According to estimates by district medical and health officials, around 140 people have been undergoing treatment in both government and private hospitals in Guntur city for the last four  days. The inflow of diarrhoea patients is so heavy that GGH doctors are allotting single beds to two patients in the two special wards. Special wards were also set up in Fever Hospital.   

Drinking water is said to have been contaminated due to mixing of drainage water into drinking water during the pipeline work at Anandpeta and its surrounding areas in city. The residents who consumed the polluted water have been admitted to hospitals with vomiting and loose motions. The district medical and health department has already set up health camps at Anandpeta. 

GGH superintendent Dr  D S Raju Naidu said, “We have set up two special wards in the GGH to give treatment to the patients suffering from the diarrhoea which were working in the 24x7. The number of diarrhoea patients getting admitted to the hospital is increasing.” 

District medical and health officer (DMHO) Dr J Yasmin  said  they were conducting health camps in the old city and deployed doctors and nurses to administer medicine.

“Outbreak of diarrhoea is not generally witnessed at this time of the year, though it is possible in May and June. No diarrhoea cases were registered during the same period last year. We are conducting medical camps in affected areas following instructions 
of the government,” he said.