With the queen of hills stations, Shimla, struggling with a serious outbreak of jaundice for over a month, a team of experts from the Centre’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that visited S
With the queen of hills stations, Shimla, struggling with a serious outbreak of jaundice for over a month, a team of experts from the Centre’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that visited Shimla for investigating have found both hepatitis A and hepatitis E virus circulating in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh.
Union health minister J.P. Nadda, who is closely monitoring the situation, has asked for a detailed report from the authorities concerned. Sources disclosed that about 3,500 cases of jaundice have been reported from Shimla and adjoining rural areas. Seven deaths, including that of a pregnant woman, have been reported so far. “A Central team was sent and it ruled out hepatitis C. But both hepatitis A and E are circulating. These viruses are transmitted through contaminated water. The Centre is extending all the necessary help,” said a senior official in the health ministry. Earlier, the municipal corporation of Shimla also concluded that the outbreak could be the result of untreated water from sewerage plants getting mixed with water from the Ashwani khud pumping station that supplies water to around 30 per cent population of Shimla. The team that visited the sewerage treatment plant at Malyana had found that the sewerage treatment plant was in poor condition and was discharging raw effluents. It was also found that the effluents were not chlorinated properly, and that the bleaching powder was used beyond the expiry date.
The Shimla police started investigating after mayor Sanjay Chauhan and deputy mayor Tikender Panwar got an FIR lodged. While the contractor of the plant has been absconding, only a junior engineer and two officials have been suspended. The Shimla Municipal Corporation, which handles water distribution in the town, has stopped taking supply from Ashwani Khad and has also served a notice to the state’s irrigation public health engineering department for “negligence”.
