Via The Hindu: Cholera scare spreads to north Chennai. Excerpt:
A total of 13 persons were admitted to Communicable Diseases Hospital (CDH) in Tondiarpet on Sunday with symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea.
According to a Chennai Corporation official, the patients are residents of north Chennai.
What began as a health and sanitation issue in and around Chetpet, creating a cholera scare last week, has now spread to other parts of the city.
A total of 39 persons are undergoing treatment at CDH and eight at Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital (KMC). Twenty-one patients were discharged from CDH on Sunday, after treatment. The Chennai Corporation has asked KMC to not admit cases because CDH is better equipped to deal with diarrhoea cases.
“There is no need to panic when one has such symptoms. Residents should seek immediate medical care. The cases are scattered and unlike what was witnessed the first time around (in Chetpet area). It is normal to get 10-15 cases a day during this season,” said an official in the civic body.
The cholera scare also brought to light Chennai Corporation’s inadequate attention to newly-added zones, with residents complaining that not enough was being done to control flies and chlorinate wells that are sources of drinking water in many areas.
Residents of areas in Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Ullagaram, Madipakkam and Thoraipakkam answered in the negative when asked if chlorine tablets were distributed in their localities by the corporation.
