Two women died today and around 100 others fell sick following a suspected diarrhoea outbreak in different wards in the Kamarhati municipal area.
Around 70 residents of five wards including 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 under the Kamarhati Municipality in the outskirts of the city was rushed to the state-run College of Medicine and Sagar Dutta State General Hospital showing symptoms of severe nausea and abdominal pain.
Two patients, Janaki Bibi (50) and Toufiq Ahmed (13), have died at the hospital while others are undergoing treatment. Toufik was transferred to the R.G. Kar Medical College where he passed away. Both were suffering from serious dehydration, the doctor said.
Ten persons are stated to be in a critical state. The outbreak of the disease was first reported from wards 2 and 5 where several people with similar symptoms of nausea and stomach ache began visiting the local doctors.
Fearing the outbreak in the industrial belt of the Kamarhati area, the local municipal body has started public awareness campaigns advising residents to drink boiled water.
Health officials of the municipality suspected that contamination in water supplied by either Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority or a nearby jute mill might have caused the outbreak in several wards. Water samples collected from the affected areas were sent to laboratories to verify contamination.
Dr Shanta Dutta, director of the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, at Beliaghata, has expressed concern after hearing the news of an outbreak in Kamarhati area.