At least 47 affected: After 3 tested positive, localised Cholera outbreak declared in Rajkot’s Dhoraji

At least 35 people had been admitted to the Sub-District Hospital (SDH) in Dhoraji and three of them remained under treatment as of Tuesday. At least 12 patients received OPD (outpatient department)  treatment, said health officials.

The incident came to light on November 12 when a large number of people from the Paanch Pir Ni Wadi area of Dhoraji began falling sick. “We were informed of the incident by doctors at the SDH on the same day. A team of doctors were deployed to the affected area and three persons tested positive for Cholera. A total of 47 cases of diarrhoea and vomiting have been reported till now,  indicating a localised outbreak,” said Dr Vaibhav Goriya, District Epidemic Medical Officer of Rajkot district.

The taluka and district officials visited the locality and found five leakages in water and sewage pipelines. Repair work has been underway to plug leakages in the old pipelines, official sources said.

Dr Goriya said that water tankers had been sent to the locality to meet people’s water needs. For medical services, a temporary OPD has been started by the district health department and a local team has conducted door-to-door health surveillance.

The Collector notified the Cholera outbreak on November 15. Collector P M Prakash remained unavailable for comment.