Gastroenteritis breaks out in city again The Hindu : Front Page

The Hindu : Front Page : Gastroenteritis breaks out in city again: "Nearly 40 people from Shamanna Garden in RPC Layout, off Vijayanagar, are down with symptoms of gastroenteritis (GE) and 23 have been admitted in the Epidemics Diseases Hospital (Isolation Hospital) on Old Madras Road.

The hospital authorities said that all in-patient cases were confirmed as gastroenteritis. The patients are down with diarrhoea and vomiting and their stool samples have been sent for examination to the Public Health Institute on Sheshadri Road to confirm whether or not they are infected with cholera.

According to the hospital sources, the patients had developed GE symptoms after drinking contaminated water. There were seven women and an equal number of children among the patients who were treated as inpatients on Monday. Six patients were discharged after treatment earlier in the day.

Principal Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Madangopal, who visited the hospital, instructed the authorities to get in touch with the officials from Bruhat Bangalore Mahangara Palike (BBMP) and ensure that steps were taken to prevent the spread of the epidemic. Residents of Shamanna Garden told The Hindu that sewage from a huge drain was overflowing on the roads in the locality and the drinking water lines were almost submerged in the sewage. Syed Mubarak, whose kin has been admitted in the hospital, said water supplied through the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) lines was getting mixed with sewage.

However, the BWSSB claimed that water supplied to Shamanna Garden was not contaminated. “We tested the water immediately after we got complaints. We found 0.1 ppm of chlorine. Finding traces of chlorine means that it does not harbour any water borne diseases,” said T. Venkatraju, Chief Engineer, (Maintenance), BWSSB. "