Shigella toll rises to 5 after 2 more deaths in Kerala

KOZHIKODE/THRISSUR: Two more Shigella deaths were reported in Kerala after a boy died of the disease in Malappuram on Monday morning and a test result later in the day in Thrissur found that a man who died on Saturday had Shigella.

With this, the number of Shigella deaths in Kerala rose to five this year. Two more cases were reported in Kannur district on Monday after a four-year-old boy and an eight-year-old boy from Mokeri panchayat tested positive for the disease. DMO Dr K C Sachin said their condition is stable.The seven-year-old boy from Vadakkemanna in Malappuram was undergoing treatment at the ICU of Kozhikode Medical College. The Class-II student of Malappuram AUP School was admitted to the medical college on Jun 12 after he developed diarrhoea and vomiting.

The child's funeral took place at Cheruparambu cemetery at 3.30pm. Three other children are undergoing treatment for the disease at the medical college and the condition of one is reported to be serious.In Thrissur, authorities found that a 43-year-old man from Mapranam near Irinjalakuda, who was admitted to a private hospital at Kodakara with acute abdominal pain, diarrhoea and other ailments around Saturday noon and died later in the evening, had Shigella.

He was staying in Kodakara for the past few months in connection with his work.His family had alleged medical negligence and the man's body was sent for post-mortem at Thrissur Medical College. Police had also registered a case based on their complaints under BNS Section 194. Tests conducted on the samples collected from his body confirmed Shigella. The test results came on Monday.Earlier this month, Malappuram had reported another Shigella death when a 59-year-old woman from Keezhattur died shortly after she was admitted to Kozhikode Medical College.

The infection was confirmed subsequently. Kozhikode had recorded two Shigella-related deaths this year. A three-year-old child died in March and a four-year-old child succumbed to the disease on June 6.Agriculture minister T Siddique said tests at Koliyadi Mar Baselious AUP School in Wayanad, where a Shigella outbreak was reported, found contamination in all key water sources, including the open well, borewell and water purifier system. He said lab tests detected coliform bacteria and pseudomonas in the water samples, pointing to widespread contamination.