Contaminated drinking water cause: BMO
Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, June 25: With the cause identified as the consumption of contaminated water, nearly half a dozen cases of jaundice have been reported from Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
Following the instances at Gousia Abad-a residential colony in Sopore-where one case after another was reported, the district health authorities dispatched a team led by a doctor to assess the situation and collect the necessary samples to further ascertain the source of the disease.
“These cases involve children, all 6 of them. The authorities today dispatched a team led by a pediatrician, which has collected water and blood samples for further analysis. All the precautionary measures have been taken in this regard,” Block Medical Officer (BMO) Sopore, Dr. Zulfikar Nabi, told Excelsior.
Notably, the jaundice cases from the area were reported on Monday after the affected children presented symptoms, prompting their families to rush to the nearby healthcare facility.
Once these instances came to the notice of the authorities, they promptly informed the higher-ups, who then initiated the Information Education and Communication (IEC) activities under the norms to promote personal hygiene and water safety behavior.
Officials said that the team comprised officials from the CMO Office, Integrated Disease Surveillance Program’s District Surveillance Unit, along with the SDH team.
They visited the area, inspected the outbreak, provided awareness regarding the disease, and advised the residents to take necessary precautions to prevent further spread.
The pediatrician, who was with the visiting team, said that they visited the area and collected blood and water samples, which will be taken to the laboratory in Baramulla for analysis to ascertain the source of the disease.
“The primary cause of the disease is suspected to be contaminated water, which is currently being confirmed,” he said.
Residents reported that the area does not have a tap water facility, leaving them no option but to consume water from wells. The situation is risky as the area also faces drainage issues.
“It appears that the drainage, which does not have a proper outlet in the area, has contaminated the groundwater we consume daily. If there was a proper drinking water facility, we might not be facing this situation currently,” the residents said.
They stressed that if the issues they are facing remain unaddressed, the situation could prove fatal. “This time, only some of the children have been affected; tomorrow it could be all of us living here.”
Meanwhile, the officials have underlined that so far no fresh jaundice cases have been reported in any age group in the area, noting that the residents have been asked to look out for the identified symptoms and report the same to healthcare workers. “After such cases are reported, the focus remains on, first, identifying the source and, second, making the residents aware of the symptoms.”
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