The death toll caused by a jaundice outbreak in the city has hit seven as a man suffering from the disease died during treatment at a hospital in India.
Health workers said the number might go up as the outbreak that began around three weeks ago is still beyond control.
Organising a press meet in Biratnagar on Friday, the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD) confirmed that seven people died of the disease so far. A team of officials from the EDCD arrived in the city on Thursday to take stock of the situation and inquired health workers about the condition of jaundice patients receiving treatment at various hospitals.
Dr Baburam Marasini, who leads the EDCD team, said the flow of jaundice patients to hospitals will continue for at least for 10 more days. Health workers said local hospitals are still receiving patients.
Nawaraj Subba, chief of the District Public Health Office, said 1,127 jaundice patients are receiving care in various government and private health institutions in the city. Many others are said to have gone to Kathmandu and India for treatment.
Dr Dipak Sigdel of the Koshi Zonal Hospital said 44 patients were treated on Friday alone and 24 others had been admitted.
Meanwhile, health experts said the outbreak was caused due to the consumption of polluted water supplied by the Nepal Water Supply Corporation. They said water supplied in the city is polluted as pipes installed by the corporation over 50 years ago have developed cracks at various places. Santosh Kumar Rauniyar of the corporation said the water pipes could have leaked.
Dr Marasini, however, said that the disease could also have been caused by tube well water. “Only those tube wells that are set up at least 40 metres away from toilets and septic tanks are considered safe,” he said, urging everyone to boil water collected from all tube wells for the time being.
Source: Ekantipur
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