Water contamination behind diarrhoea outbreak in Indore, confirms lab test

A laboratory test has confirmed that a diarrhoea outbreak, which has killed at least four patients and affected over 1,400 people in Indore, was caused by contaminated drinking water, officials have said.

The test findings substantiated that a life-threatening drinking water supply system prevails in parts of Madhya Pradesh’s commercial capital, which has been ranked India’s cleanest city for the last eight years.

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 drinking water was contaminated due to a leakage in a pipeline in the Bhagirathpura area, from where the outbreak has been reported.

He did not share the detailed findings of the test report.

Officials have said that a leakage was found in the main drinking water supply pipeline near a police outpost in Bhagirathpura at a spot over which a toilet has been constructed. They claimed the leakage led to contamination of the water supply in the area.

Additional Chief Secretary Sanjay Dubey told PTI, “We are closely examining the entire drinking water supply pipeline in Bhagirathpura to find out if there is any leakage elsewhere.”

He said after inspection, clean water was supplied to households in Bhagirathpura through the pipeline on Thursday, though as a precaution, people have been advised to use the water for drinking only after boiling it.

“We have also taken samples of this water and sent them for testing,” Dubey said.

Drawing lessons from the water tragedy in Bhagirathpura, the senior bureaucrat informed that a standard operating procedure (SOP) will be issued for the entire state to prevent such incidents in the future.

Dubey visited Bhagirathpura to review the situation on the instructions of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav.

A health department official said during a survey of 1,714 households in Bhagirathpura on Thursday, 8,571 people were examined. Of them, 338 people showing mild symptoms of vomiting-diarrhoea 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.

At present, 201 patients are admitted to hospitals, including 32 in intensive care units (ICUs), the official added.