Indore declares Bhagirathpura waterborne outbreak epidemic; calls in special teams to contain spread

INDORE: The health administration in Indore on Sunday declared the waterborne disease outbreak in Bhagirathpura locality an epidemic, calling in specialised teams from the Central and state govts to contain the spread and identify the root cause of contamination that has claimed 10 lives so far in the area.

Chief medical and health officer (CMHO) Dr Madhav Hasani said, "An epidemic is defined by reporting more cases of a disease than usual for a specific area. We are now treating the outbreak on that scale. These national teams are analysing our survey data to determine if the contamination originated from a single source or multiple points."




A high-level meeting was chaired by district collector Shivam Verma at the Smart City office on Sunday morning to coordinate with specialists from across India, who include ICMR-NIRBI (Kolkata) scientists Dr Pramit Ghosh and Dr Gautam Chaudhary from the National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections, Dr Anubhav from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), along with experts in community medicine and epidemiology from the State Surveillance Team (Bhopal).

The team from Kolkata collected random water samples using advanced scientific methods to pinpoint the exact bacterial strains involved.

Verma said the Narmada water supply in the affected zone remained suspended and would be restored only after the experts certify the pipelines as fully decontaminated.

Verma told the experts that, to manage the crisis at a micro-level, the entire Bhagirathpura area was divided into 32 beats. In each beat, dedicated teams worked with residents to ensure mandatory chlorination of all govt and private borewells. "Residents have been instructed to drain and clean basement storage tanks (hoj), followed by professional chlorination before any reuse," he said.

Addressing public anxiety regarding secondary health complications, Verma said, "I want to clarify that no cases of GBS (Guillain-Barre Syndrome) were found in the city," dismissing rumours of the neurological disorder being linked to the current outbreak.

Verma said the administration continued to supply clean drinking water via tankers, while health workers distributed liquid chlorine drops door-to-door.

He said multi-departmental teams conducted house-to-house surveys, with random sampling extended to other areas of the city where complaints were received.

"Affected patients are receiving free treatment, including necessary injections and medications, at various hospitals under the supervision of specialists called in from neighbouring districts," he said.
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