The home state of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has reported at least 133 suspected cases of typhoid due to contamination of drinking water from drainage pipes.
While 45 of them have been discharged from various hospitals, 88 people are still getting treatment in Gandhinagar in the western Gujarat state, the local municipal corporation said.
“Round-the-clock OPDs have been established in the affected areas and arrangements have been made for the relatives of patients,” the Gandhinagar Civil Hospital said.
At least 21 leaks have been identified in the drinking water pipeline network which led to its contamination by sewage water, local media reported.
State authorities acknowledged the outbreak in a press release on 4 January even as local residents claimed they had been getting contaminated water for a long time.
Typhoid is a life-threatening infection caused by the bacterium Salmonella typhi and spreads through contaminated food and water.
The contaminated lines are reportedly part of a water supply project built at a cost of Rs 2.57bn (£21m). Officials conceded the new pipes were laid close to sewer lines.
“When high-pressure water began flowing, weak pipes developed leaks,” a senior roads and buildings department official told the Times of India.
A resident of Gandhinagar, Malti Kori, said her six-year-old son fell ill about a week ago, soon after they started getting foul-smelling water. The child has since been diagnosed with typhoid.
“We got such water continuously for four-five days. We used it only on the first day after which we started buying drinking water. But that one day was enough to make my son ill. He had a fever and stomach ache. After the test showed typhoid, we have been treating him for it,” he told the Indian Express.
Another resident, Asha Pandya, whose 14-year-old son recently recovered from typhoid, said: “The water seemed like someone had mixed cement powder with it.”
She claimed that they had been getting contaminated water since November.
The typhoid outbreak came just days after similar contamination of water was reported to have killed at least 10 people in Indore in the neighbouring state of Madhya Pradesh and put 142 in hospital.
Mr Modi’s home minister and Gandhinagar MP, Amit Shah, has been “in constant touch” with the state government, directing the immediate repair of leakages and intensified inspection of the water network in surrounding areas.
At least 75 health teams are working with local municipal staff, inspecting over 20,800 houses, covering 90,000 people. Engineering teams have begun super-chlorination.
Municipal commissioner JN Vaghela told the Indian Express they first received complaints on 29 December.
“The issue has cropped up owing to water contamination,” he said, adding that they had plugged 21 leaks so far.
“All the patients are stable, nobody is critical. We have also started chlorination tests and the water is potable now. We are hopeful of containing the outbreak in a day or two with super-chlorination,” he told the Times of India.
Gandhinagar Civil Hospital superintendent Mita Parikh warned they were expecting at least 10 fresh cases daily till 20 January, despite the plugging of leaks, as the incubation period for typhoid was 10-15 days.
Authorities have distributed 30,000 chlorine tablets and 20,600 ORS packets while the government has advised people to drink boiled water.
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