Preliminary tests indicate that twelve patients admitted to JJ Hospital may have cholera, which is a highly infectious disease.
MUMBAI: After dengue and malaria, Mumbai might have just found itself a more deadly enemy: Cholera.
JJ Hospital sources told DNA that 12 patients have been admitted with symptoms of cholera. “The hanging drop tests performed on these patients had indicated the presence of cholera carrier, Vibrio Cholerae bacterium,” said a source.
The samples have been sent for a tissue culture test, which will finally confirm if the patients have cholera.
Cholera is a highly infectious water-borne disease contracted by drinking contaminated water or eating improperly cooked fish. Symptoms include severe dehydration, vomiting, loose motions, high blood pressure, sunken eyes, dry tongue and low urine output.
If not diagnosed in time, a patient can suffer from very low blood pressure and go into a state of shock, eventually causing death.
Alarmingly, suspected cholera cases have been trickling into JJ Hospital from October 5. “Most cases have been reported from the Don Taki area of Mumbai Port Trust. The patients have been isolated in the hospital’s medical ward,” a top doctor of the hospital told DNA.
Don Taki has large slums and is considered a high-risk area. Admitting there were patients with cholera symptoms, JJ Hospital Superintendent Dr Arun Pol said, “We’re in touch with municipal authorities.”
State Director of Health Services Dr PP Doke said the BMC has taken preventive measures. “There have been no new cases,” he said. BMC’s Executive Health Officer Dr Jayaraj Thanekar said, “We have surveyed the area and conducted medical camps. We have distributed chlorine tablets and ORS packets. The source of contamination was groundwater.”
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