500 taken ill due to water contamination in Bangalore

BANGALORE: Over 500 people, including 10 children, have taken ill due to suspected water contamination in Bharatinagar area of the city.

While 30 of them have been diagnosed with gastroenteritis and have been admitted to private nursing homes, the others are being treated as out patients, sources in the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) said today.

"The in-patients are being attended by gastro experts and there is no cause for alarm", the sources said.

In the wake of the problem, BMP has launched a door-to-door campaign in the area with medical supervisors visiting homes in the morning and apprising residents about the various preventive measures that need to be taken, Dr Gayathri, Chief Medical Officer (BMP) said.

Help desks have also been set up in the government hospitals and nursing homes where doctors are administering Oral Solutions (ORS). Pamphlets in Kannada and English are being distributed at the desk as part of the awareness programme, she said.

Gayathri said she has instructed the Public Health Institute, where the water samples have been sent for testing, to submit its report soon.