Cholera toll rises to six in Wayanad

KALPETTA: With one more death reported on Wednesday night, the cholera toll touched six in the district. The deceased is Vellan, 65, a native of Karimam tribal settlement near Pulppalli, who was referred to the District Hospital, Mananthavadi, from the Community Health Centre (CHC), Pulppalli.The number of deaths at the Karimam tribal settlement at Pulppalli, from where highest number of patients sought medical care due to acute diarrhoea, is two and the total toll from Pulppalli region is three.
At the Community Health Centre (CHC), Pulppalli, 14 new patients were admitted with symptoms of cholera on Thursday.In total, 50 persons have been admitted to the CHC so far. Among the patients, only three are from general category while the rest are from tribal communities."So far, 99 cases of diarrhoea have been reported from 10 panchayats in the district," Dr Nitha Vijayan, District Medical Officer, said. Talking to 'Express', she said that the aged person who died at the district hospital, Mananthavadi, on Thursday was discharged from the hospital after treatment for some other illnesses and again came back with diarrhoea. Underlining the cause of the outbreak, she said that 90% of the cholera patients contracted the disease from their kith and kin who returned from farms in Karnataka.