Outbreak of gastro-enteritis and cholera in India.

The outbreak began in December.

Jan 7, 2000 33 more gastro cases reported: 2 confirmed cholera

AHMEDABAD: Fifty-one year old Mohammadhusain Noor Mohammad Shaikh from Khamasa succumbed to gastro-enteritis on Wednesday at Lifeline hospital where he was undergoing treatment. He was admitted in a municipal hospital on December 31 after which he had moved out. Municipal commissioner K Kailashnathan said that 33 more cases of gastro-enteritis were reported on Thursday of which two have tested positive for cholera. Clarifying on the case of Shamshadbano who died on Wednesday, Kailashnathan said that hers was a case of Discharge Against Medical Advice (DAMA). Till date, there have been 21 cases of cholera and 221 cases of gastro-enteritis reported to municipal hospitals since the outbreak.

Link to story:

http://www.timesofindia.com/070100/07mahm2.htm

January 8, 2000 27 more gastro cases registered

AHMEDABAD: As many as 27 fresh cases of gastroenteritis were registered at municipal hospitals on Friday while two cases were tested positive for cholera from Sarkhej and Jamalpur, said deputy municipal commissioner (health) Pinakin Dikshit. The Jamalpur case is from Khanjaani Masjid while the Sarkhej case from Makarba village which is outside municipal limits. Meanwhile, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has sent 32 stool samples of gastroenteritis patients to National Institute of Virology at Pune following suspicion that the Norwalk virus could have caused gastroenteritis in adults. Microbiologist Jyoti Devkule of V S Hospital said that while rota virus caused infantile diarrhoea, it could not be ascertained whether the Norwalk virus could have cause the outbreak in adults who were seen more in number this time. In addition to those admitted there were 110 cases treated in the OPDs of the hospitals for gastroenteritis, according to medical officer of health P K Makwana. Assuring that the outbreak was under control, deputy municipal commissioner J G Hingrajia (central zone) said that of the 66 samples of milk tested, 17 were found adulterated. Following these findings, the AMC has decided to strictly enforce the installation of aqua-guards for drinking water in all hotels.

Link to story

http://www.timesofindia.com/080100/pagemahm.htm

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), January 11, 2000

Answers

Here's another story from public official in India (related to the one above) about how proud they are of lessening of outbreaks right before the new problem occured:

Link to story:

http://www.timesofindia.com/091299/09mdel6.htm

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), January 11, 2000.

Carl,

I haven't been to Somalia but I've been to India. Chronic gastrointestinal illnesses are the most common sickness in the country. I took cholera shots because cholera is also common in India. Most infants die from GI illnesses in India. India is, I suspect, light years ahead of Somalia in terms of sanitation and infrastructure. Saying this is in any way related to Y2K is really a stretch.

Jim

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), January 11, 2000.

Gostroenteritis can be caused by untreated water. In the US for eg: we are plagued by giardia.

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), January 11, 2000.

Somalia HAD no infrastructure for Y2K to damage. And that's not an exaggeration or joke, it's the truth.

Carl desperately needs to go to the Third World sometime. Well, really, he needed to go to the Third World in 1997 or something.

(I've never been myself but I have enough sense of world awareness to know what the heck has been going on there for the past 30 years)

Back when all Third World countries were happy paradises of hale and healthy people enjoying round-the-clock stable power, prior to the awful Y2K bug that instantly turned Third World countries into festering cesspools with electrical shortages and surges.

I have to say the header on this post is the single most idiotic thing Carl has ever written.

-- John H Krempasky (johnk@dmv.com), January 11, 2000.

Thanks for your post John, As usual, you need little or no refutation.

However, I have been getting some private criticism from people I respect.

So, here's my rationale for posting this story and some others that I freely admit may be a bit of a stretch.

If you want to build a database from which you can draw any accurate conclusions, it is necessary to include and analyze all stories reported. For example, consider the recent severe outbreak of Cholera in Africa and the cases in India that have occurred shortly before, during and after rollover. I am well aware of the fact that developing countries have problems with sanitation and disease. However, prior to the rollover, developing countries were the very places that were regarded as most likely to suffer y2k related infrastructure failures. If infrastructure breakdowns are taking place in countries like India and Somolia, you would expect an increase in the incidence and severity of cholera cases. So, having information concerning where serious visible and verifiable occurances are taking place is absolutely vital to perform any kind oof real time analysis. I am not saying that all or any of these incidents are related to y2k. There are thousands of incidents in the media sites I visit that are similar, but have had their causes explained. I do not report on them. I am only posting questionable incidents where the cause of the problem has not been identified, and that, in my mind at least raise questions and deserve scrutiny.

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), January 11, 2000.

I have to say the header on this post is the single most idiotic thing Carl has ever written.

-- John H Krempasky

John, I believe that you may be doing Carl an injustice with this statement. I am sure that it is NOT the most idiotic thing that Carl has ever written. :-)

-- Malcolm Taylor (taylorm@es.co.nz), January 11, 2000.

Don't know if it is related to Y2K or not, but the town of Hilliard in north Florida has had a boil water alert starting Monday to this coming Friday. They claimed a water main broke.

-- Lurkess (Lurkess@Lurking.Net), January 12, 2000.