Hyderabad: Four people have died and 56 people are suffering from gastroenteritis in Gadwal town, which is suspected to be caused by consumption of contaminated water.
The four deceased persons suffered from diabetes and hypertension and were aged between 40 and 60. Officials suspect that their existing conditions aggravated the gastroenteritis and caused their deaths. Gadwal district medical and health officer Dr Chandu Naik said of the 56 people admitted in District Hospital, Gadwal, three of them are suffering from severe dehydration while the remaining 53 are stable. Their symptoms include vomiting and diarrhoea.
The DMHO said the patients were from a few areas of Gadwal, including Vedanagar, Gandaveedi and Buddhapet. “As they are low-lying areas, sewage water from the surroundings may have entered the water.” Officials have tested the water supplied by the municipal corporation and no contaminants were found in it.
However, Gadwal Commissioner S.V. Janaki Ram said many houses in the locality generally use water stored in open pits in front of their house for drinking, and that water might have got contaminated. Samples from the water in the pits were sent for testing on Thursday.
However, Jogulamba Gadwal’s Superintendent of Police Ranjan Ratan Kumar denied any water contamination, and said doctors had attributed the mass illnesses to the change in climate in the district, where temperatures have dropped down due to heavy rains.
Currently, about 95 medical staff and 10 doctors from the district hospital are carrying out door to door visits and distributing ORS packets and tablets. Janaki Ram said the pits of water had been closed and measures were taken up to raise the level of taps to prevent contamination.
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