Malappuram: With the health authorities busy fighting outbreak of dengue, diphtheria, H1N1 and other infectious diseases, the emergence of shigella bacterial infection has set the alarm bells ringing across the district. The health department has alerted public after it confirmed that the death of a three-year-old boy few days ago at Arimbra in the district was due to shigella. The health officials had visited the area after the death and collected drinking water samples for detailed examination.
"Contaminated food and water consumption causes the shigella bacterial infection. We have found that the area where the death was reported was prone to such infectious diseases. The examination of the water samples collected from the area has also found dangerous levels of Escherichia coli (E. Coli) bacteria," District Medical Officer (DMO) Dr. K. Sakeena said.
The DMO has asked the public to ensure the safety of the drinking water and food after suspected cases with symptoms of shigella infection was reported in many parts of the district. Symptoms of shigella infection include diarrhea (often bloody), abdominal pain, stomach cramps, and fever. Commonly the infection spread through person to person contact.
The health authorities have asked public to take only boiled water and well kept food. The DMO has also asked the public to stay away from unscientific treatments for infectious diseases. Besides a shigella death, 10 persons were dead during the past six days in the district due to Dengue. A diphtheria case had also been confirmed on Saturday besides a three suspected cases.
