Testing of water samples from areas in Indore where a diarrhea outbreak killed at least 11 people has confirmed water contamination to be the reason for the spread of sickness, officials have said.
Indore’s Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), Dr. Madhav Prasad Hasani, told reporters on Thursday that a laboratory report prepared by a city-based medical college confirmed that drinking water was contaminated due to a leakage in a pipeline in the Bhagirathpura area, from where the outbreak has been reported.
Although Dr. Hasani did not share the detailed findings of the report, officials said they found a leakage in the main drinking water supply pipeline near a police outpost in Bhagirathpura at a spot over which a toilet has been constructed, which they claimed led to contamination of the water supply in the area.
It must be noted that Indore has been ranked India’s cleanest city for the last eight years.
As per Additional Chief Secretary, Sanjay Dubey, the entire drinking water supply pipeline in Bhagirathpura is being examined to check for leakages elsewhere. Post inspection, clean water was supplied to households in Bhagirathpura through the pipeline on Thursday, he added.
Also Read: Indore water contamination: Death toll rises to 11
However, he advised people to boil drinking water before consuming it, as a precautionary measure. “We have also taken samples of this water and sent them for testing,” Dubey said.
The senior official also said that lessons have been drawn from the incident and a standard operating procedure (SOP) will soon be issued for the entire state to prevent such incidents in the future.
Meanwhile, an official said 201 patients remain admitted to hospitals, including 32 in intensive care units (ICUs).
On Thursday, 8,571 people were examined in Bhagirathpura after a survey of 1,714 households, the official added. Of them, 338 people showed mild symptoms of vomiting-diarrhoea, and were given primary treatment at their homes.
He stated that in the eight days since the outbreak, 272 patients were admitted to local hospitals, of whom 71 have been discharged so far.
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