Fever spreads in Valparai, water blamed

COIMBATORE: At least 20 women including three nine-year-old children have been admitted to the government hospital in Valparai with high fever, headache and dizziness. All affected people belong to families of labourers employed in the Ryan division of Tamil Nadu Tea Plantation Corporation Limited (TANTEA) estate. Eleven of them were admitted to the hospital on Thursday night, while the remaining on Friday.A few others who sought medical help with similar symptoms were sent back after they were given medication at the government hospital and the primary health centre. Preliminary reports hint at contaminated water as the source of infection.
"A team of doctors will conduct further medical check-up of the people employed in the Ryan division. Patients are being treated at the hospital and water samples were taken for analysis," said M Arumugam, CPI MLA, Valparai assembly constituency.
According to Valparai Municipality chairman V Sathyamani Muthu, a doctor from the PHC visited the division on Friday and distributed pills to the people who complained of fever. A detailed report is expected to be sent to the department of public health services about the incident. Though all 20 people admitted to the hospital have recorded body temperature of about 104 degrees, none of them are in a critical state at the moment, it was said. "It could be typhoid but we are waiting for the detailed report," Arumugam added.
People in the affected division of the estate have been advised to consume only boiled water for the next few days after local people alleged that the water storage facility from where drinking water is supplied to them is not maintained properly. Local ward member A Sudhakar claimed that some of the children at a local panchayat school were also affected with fever for the last three days.
"There is no adequate facility to treat the large number of patients at Valparai government hospital. An expert team of doctors should be immediately sent to the area to ascertain the seriousness of the situation," A Sudhakar added.