Thiruvananthapuram: Cholera has been confirmed in a 10-year-old resident of the Neyyatinkara Karunya Mission Special School hostel on Tuesday. He is currently receiving treatment at the SIT Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.
Earlier, another inmate of the same hostel, Anu (26), died after experiencing similar symptoms and diarrhoea. His post-mortem results are still pending to determine if his death was also due to the bacterial disease.
Additionally, 16 residents from the Karunya hostel have been admitted to various hospitals across the district, including Nemom and Parassala, with similar symptoms. These individuals are being administered cholera-preventive drugs.
Meanwhile, the health authorities have expressed concerns about a potential cholera outbreak in the capital due to the cluster of symptoms emerging from the same location. “Health check-ups are being conducted in the Karunya hostel inmates to assess the situation. Samples from the 16 residents, who are under treatment, were sent for testing and we are awaiting the results,” officials told Manorama News.
In the past six months, Kerala has reported nine confirmed cholera cases. The last cholera-related death in the state occurred in 2017.
Cholera is an extremely virulent and diarrhoeal disease transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated food or water. It can kill the affected person within hours if left untreated.
