Minor Brother-Sister Duo Die of Diarrhoea After Drinking Water From Public Well in MP's Chhatarpur

Chhatarpur: A minor brother-sister duo died due to diarrhoea in a village in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh, following which the health department has sent a team of doctors to assess the situation, an official said.

The two children, aged 11 and five, died due to the water-borne disease in Gangwaha village located under Bamitha police station limits, some 35 km from the district headquarters, he said.

"After getting information about the death of two children, the health team visited the village on Monday," Chief Medical Health Officer (CMHO) R P Gupta said.

Initial information revealed that the villagers use water from a well, which may be contaminated. The villagers were advised not to drink water from that well. Bleaching powder has been mixed in the well and other local sources of water, he said.

A victim's family said they had brought fish from the market and consumed them some days back, Gupta said.

Four cases were reported on Monday as well. Three of these patients have been hospitalised. The medical team will stay in the village and treat the people, he said.

Ramesh Adivasi said he brought his children - Arvind (11) and Roshni (5) - on Sunday evening to the Bamitha health centre because they were suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea.

The hospital was shut so the minors were taken to a private hospital, but they could not be saved, he said.

He said the villagers drink water from the well, but its water is said to be contaminated.

Some other parts of Madhya Pradesh have earlier reported death of several persons due to diarrhoea.

Seven persons, including five women and a child, died and 150 took ill due to diarrhoea and water-borne diseases in the recent past in tribal-dominated Mandla district.

Besides, three men, including a father-son duo, died due to diarrhoea and six others contracted the disease in two villages of Umaria district.

According to the World Health Organisation, a significant proportion of diarrhoeal disease can be prevented through safe drinking water and adequate sanitation and hygiene.

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