Diarrhoea kills two flood-hit

NEPALGUNJ, JUL 30 - Two minors died and more than 200 persons were taken ill when diarrhoea broke out in flood-hit areas of Nepalgunj on Thursday.

The dead have been identified as Jasmin Halwai and Taniya Halwai of Salyanibag. They died while being rushed to hospital for treatment.

The waterborne disease has been spreading at Salyanibag, Ganeshpur, Dewaphulbari, Gharbaritol, Koriyanpurba, Phultekra and other places in Nepalgunj. Floods triggered by incessant rainfall inundated the places two weeks ago.

According to Dr. Madhu Aryal, in charge of the hospital emergency unit, 158 diarrhoea patients came for treatment on Thursday alone. About 100 of them have been hospitalised. Fifty-one are receiving care at Bheri Zonal Hospital while two have been admitted to United Hospital in Nepalgunj.

Patients are being treated on the floor due to the lack of beds. The teaching hospital has added eight beds to handle the overflowing number of patients.

“We suspect the outbreak to be cholera but are yet to ascertain it,” said Dr. Bimal Dhakal, Chief of Bheri Hospital. “The patients fell unconscious soon after contracting diarrhoea. We will notify whether the ailment is cholera after laboratory test of stool.” A medical team is scheduled to arrive here from Kathmandu for the lab test.

District Public Health Office is said to have dispatched a 13-member team to the affected area