Sudden diarrhoea outbreak in port city
Many residents in certain areas of the port city have been suffering from diarrhoea for a week. A good number of those affected have been admitted to hospitals due to deteriorating health conditions.
According to sources in Chattogram Civil Surgeon office, most of the patients are from Halishahar, Patenga, EPZ and North Agrabad areas, mostly getting admitted to Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID) in Fouzdarhat.
BITID sources said around 50 such patients have been coming to the hospital on average every day since August 15.
Shahed Iqbal, a Halishahar resident, brought his 12-year-old daughter to BITID on Sunday. Asked, he said his family has been using Wasa's supply water for many years.
"My entire family got infected and my daughter has not recovered yet," he said.
According to their case history, most patients live in low-lying areas where tidal water submerges the vicinities almost every day.
Contacted, Maqsud Alam, chief engineer of Chattogram Wasa, said they tested the Wasa pipeline in the mentioned areas after being informed of the diarrhoea outbreak and found no leak.
Dr Mamun-ur-Rashid, associate professor and head of epidemiology at BITID, said usually 20 to 25 diarrhoea patients get admitted to BITID every day but the number has doubled since August 15.
"We got a total of 334 patients. We have tested the samples from 81 patients and found cholera germs [vibrio cholerae]," he said.
He also mentioned that according to their case history, most patients live in low-lying areas where tidal water submerges the vicinities almost every day.
Contacted, Dr Ilias Chowdhury, Chattogram civil surgeon, said a seven-member team from Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has arrived in Chattogram on Sunday to collect samples from the diarrhoea-prone areas.
"The civil surgeon or Chattogram divisional director of Directorate General of Health Services can be the spokesperson regarding the issue," said Dr Sonam Barua, a member of IEDCR team, after informing that the sample collection process has already started.
Dr Md Shakhawat Ullah, deputy director of Chattogram DGHS, said the IEDCR team has started working, and it would require more time to comment on the study.
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