Gujarat: Parts of Kalol Town Declared Cholera Affected After 4 Cases Reported

Parts of Kalol in Gujarat state’s Gandhinagar district were declared infected with cholera after four cases were detected in the last few days, officials said Friday, in the city’s second such outbreak since 2021.

They said affected people are being treated and stabilized, although authorities have come across 11 more suspected cases in the city.

They said a notice declaring the area within a radius of 2 km as affected by cholera was issued on Thursday by Gandhinagar Collector Hitesh Koya under the Epidemic Diseases Act for a period of one month.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacteria Vibrio cholerae. It can cause severe diarrhea, dehydration, and lead to death if not treated.

The official said the disease was suspected to have started in Kalol due to contaminated water, stressing that the exact cause behind the four cases will be known after investigation.

According to the notification, the areas declared to be affected by cholera include Juma Masjid, Matvakova, Bangladeshi Chhabra, Anjuman Wadi and Gulistan Park.

We have already deployed health teams to conduct a survey to find suspected cases, if any. We have also told all the government and private hospitals in Kalol to closely monitor the patients and inform the authorities if they come across any suspected case,” Koya said.

This is the second cholera outbreak in Kalol in two years. In July 2021, some parts of the city were declared infected with cholera after cases of infection were reported.

The investigation showed that contamination of drinking water due to leakage or rupture of underground pipelines led to the spread of the disease.

(This story was not edited by the News18 staff and was published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)