Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

17 children develop symptoms of diarrhoea

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI May 16. Seventeen children from the Elephant Gate area were admitted to Stanley Medical College Hospital today with complaints of diarrhoeal disorder and vomiting. Four of them, who developed symptoms of cholera were later transferred to the Communicable Diseases Hospital (CDH), Tondiarpet.

The condition of the 13 children at the Stanley Hospital is stated to be `stable'.

Doctors at the Stanley Hospital said the patients started coming in at around 1.30 p.m. Initially, eight children were brought in with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea. Within a few hours, the others were admitted.

Towards the evening, four of them, who were suspected to have developed cholera, were moved to the CDH.

While one child was seven years old, the other 16 were below three.

According to the parents, the children had breakfast in the morning and went to their schools where they developed diarrhoea and vomiting. The parents said the children had not taken food at the noon meal centres.

The families living in the congested Kalyanapuram locality near the Elephant Gate police station were getting drinking water from a nearby Metrowater tank in the area. It was filled once in two or three days.

However, doctors at the CDH, ruling out the possibility of cholera, said the diarrhoeal outbreak could be due to contamination in food. `

`The children said they had taken `idiappam' in the morning which was bought from outside. The culture reports will be available on Saturday,'' said a doctor. Contamination of drinking water was also not ruled out.

The health officials of the civic body have been instructed to inspect the spot and take precautionary measures immediately.

Though lack of hygiene in the congested pockets of north Chennai has been a constant problem, little has been done to improve the sanitary conditions.

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