Cholera bacteria has been found in rectum swab samples taken from residents of Kamarhati, where a diarrhoea outbreak on Monday left 160 people affected and two dead.
“Vibrio cholerae (the bacteria that causes cholera) was found in three rectum swab samples,” Ajay Chakraborty, the state’s director of health services, said on Thursday.
Chakraborty had said on Wednesday that diarrhoea had claimed two lives in Kamarhati.
The state health department had sent rectum swab samples of Kamarhati residents and water samples from the area to the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases to detect the cause of the diarrhoea outbreak.
Over 100 people were admitted to the College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital and Kamarhati ESI Hospital. Some of them have been discharged, while others are still undergoing treatment.
The health department has set up a medical camp in the area and distributed oral rehydration solution (ORS) and halogen tablets among residents. Officials of Kamarhati Municipality have advised residents to drink only boiled water.
Most of the affected are from wards 1 to 5, which include pockets such as Kamarhati Jute Mill, Mill Approach Road and Bhootbagan. These are among the most densely populated areas of Kamarhati.
Gopal Saha, the chairperson of the board of administrators of the municipality, said they were trying to detect the source of contamination.
An official of the state health department said the patients were given fluids to keep them hydrated. “We have conducted awareness campaigns among people so they take protective measures,” said the official.
State health services director Chakraborty said all water reservoirs in the area had been chlorinated.
According to the website of the World Health Organization (WHO), “severely dehydrated patients are at risk of shock and require the rapid administration of intravenous fluids. These patients are also given appropriate antibiotics”.
But the website added mass administration of antibiotics is not recommended.