Well water contamination triggers jaundice outbreak in Kothamangalam

Kochi: A jaundice outbreak has been reported in Ernakulam, allegedly linked to contaminated drinking water. This raises serious concerns about safety and quality of local water supply as temperature soars in the district.In the latest incident, outbreak has been reported from Mulavoor Kavala, a locality situated in ward 25 of Kothamangalam municipality. Twenty-nine jaundice cases were reported from the area since March 29. Health officials said no one reported a serious health condition following the infection and only one patient needed hospital admission. Health officials said no new case, however, has been reported since the last case on April 17.According to health officials, source of infection is well water as four samples collected from the area showed presence of the pathogen hepatitis A virus. "All houses, except a few, along the side of the road in Mulavoor Kavala reported jaundice cases. Upon examination, we found cases were reported from houses where residents drink water without boiling. They all draw water from their own wells," said a health official.Meanwhile, some residents who developed the infection said they drank water from purifier. Health officials told them that purifiers are not effective against viruses. Boiling is the only option to kill pathogens in water.It is suspected that well water was polluted following contaminated water seeping in from the canal, belonging to Periyar valley irrigation project, running behind the houses.Following the outbreak, health workers conducted house-to-house visits to create awareness among residents on the need to take precautionary measures by distributing notices and carrying out mike announcements. Wells in the affected area were also chlorinated.Follow-up will continue for up to one month since the last case is reported. Until then, wells will continue to be chlorinated once a week. Jaundice becomes an outbreak when an area reports more cases than usual. Whereas cholera, another waterborne disease, becomes an outbreak even when a single case is reported.Normally, wells should be chlorinated once a month to ensure safe water.District health officials said Palluruthy in Kochi corporation limits reported jaundice cases. "Jaundice has been reported sporadically in the district. Currently, a high number of cases are reported from Kothamangalam and Palluruthy," said a senior health officer.Kadebhagam councillor Ashwathy Joshy said infection in her division was reported after contaminated water entered through rusted pipeline of Kerala Water Authority (KWA). "When there is no water supplied in the pipeline and people draw water using motors, polluted water enters the pipeline. When KWA supplies water, safe water gets contaminated and people consume it. All the KWA pipeline system in the area is very old and needs to be replaced with new safe pipes," she said.