Cholera claims 3 in Gandhidham

The port town of Gandhidham was hit by gastro-enteritis and cholera last week, claiming  three lives. A large number of poor families living in the township's dalit settlement of  Ganeshnagar and Rotary Nagar were affected by the diseases.

According to reports received from the designated Rajkot-based laboratory, the areas were in the grip of acute gastro-enteritis (AGI), which was caused by a highly dangerous pathogen, called vibrio choliery. "We were sure of this being cholera, given the serious condition of patients, most of whom were children. I treated more than 40 cases at my clinic. So did other private nursing homes. We had to give 10 bottles of IV fluid to a two-year-old child, which was very unusual," Dr Rajesh Jeswani, former president of Kutch branch of IPA and ex-secretary of AMA, told DNA.

They said the disease was caused by contaminated water as drinking water got mixed with drain water due to old and worn-out water supply and drainage systems. District collector RR Varsani and chief district medical officer Dr DK Dabhi admitted the contamination of drinking water.