Cholera fear grips Rajkot, Anand: Six plastic recycling units sealed in Rajkot town after 2 suspected deaths

A day after Rajkot reported the deaths of two children from suspected cholera, the district administration has ordered the sealing of six plastic recycling units near Upleta town. A sanitation drive has been launched in the area late Monday after water samples from the area found the presence of E.coli bacteria. Meanwhile, two more people, including a pregnant woman, were hospitalised after suspected cholera infection. The suspected cholera deaths came to light during a polio vaccination drive Sunday when the health department staff learnt that two children of labourers from Madhya Pradesh working in plastic recycling units in a cluster spread across Tanasva-Ganond villages near Upleta town had died last week. Water samples were drawn from wells and borewells in the area by various agencies even as the health department urged owners and staff of the recycling units to report any case of diarrhoea and vomiting. “Testing of four water samples drawn from the area has found the presence of E.coli bacteria. While these bacteria are not known to cause cholera, further testing of water samples is underway. But orders have been issued to seal six plastic recycling units for violations of industrial safety and health,” Rajkot collector Prabhav Joshi told The Indian Express. The officials have started sealing the units late Monday night itself, he added. The collector said that the Food and Drug Administration of Gujarat as well as the state Pollution Control Board are also testing samples of water from that area to identify contamination, if any. “People in the area are being given prophylactic doses of medicine and disinfectants are being sprayed to sanitise the area.” Rajkot chief district health officer (CDHO) Dr PK Singh said that while two persons who were being treated as suspected cases of cholera were discharged Monday after their condition improved, two others were hospitalised. “Two women were admitted to the sub-district hospital in Upleta today as suspected cholera cases. One of them is pregnant. With that, four people, including a two-and-half-year old boy are receiving indoor treatment,” he said. The CDHO said the units where the suspected outbreak is reported from were drawing water from two wells and a few borewells. “We have asked unit owners and staff to report any case of diarrhoea or vomiting to us immediately as if not managed properly in the initial few hours, diarrhoea can be life-threatening.”