MARGAO
Admissions of cholera cases from the Cutbona fishing jetty have come down in the last couple of days, but State Epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar has warned it cannot be assumed that the number of cases is coming down.
Besides the five deaths, around 172 migrant workers have been affected by the outbreak of cholera at the Cutbona fishing jetty and at Mobor. “Right now, around seven workers are undergoing treatment at the South Goa District Hospital and another 12 in the Goa Medical College,” he said.
When the media asked whether the cases are coming down at the jetty, he said, “We really don’t know whether cases are coming down, but definitely the admissions are coming down”.
To a question, he, however, said there was a situation wherein 30-35 patients were coming to the hospital at a time. “We had to take care that the disease does not spread to other patients in the hospital. We had to isolate the cholera patients with separate toilets,” he said.
Dr Utkarsh said the Health department has now provided kits for the boat owners, containing ORS and anti-biotic medicines. “Since the workers are sailing in the sea, the anti-biotic medicine will take care of them in case they are affected by suspected cholera,” he added.
