As many as six children have died of fever and other illnesses in the past two weeks in the Chilli village of Haryana's Palwal district, news agency PTI reported on Wednesday, 15 September.
The six children, all below the age of 10, had tested negative for COVID-19 as well as dengue, Palwal's Chief Medical Officer, Brahm Deep, said.
The children had shown symptoms such as high fever, vomitting, and low platelet count.
The Haryana government, in a statement, said that water contamination, caused by unhygienic conditions and illegal water pipe connections, was the likely source of the infection, PTI reported.
A district rapid response team was sent to the affected region. A household survey in the area revealed a leakage in the pipeline of drinking water. Public health officers have been instructed to repair the leakage at the earliest, news agency IANS reported.
A temporary medical camp has been set up in the area. Anti-larvae activities, such as fogging and checking of waterbodies, are being conducted in the affected area, The Indian Express reported, citing Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Rajeev Arora.
"In the last four days, the number of viral fever cases in the village has come down from 64 to 12. The situation has improved," he was quoted as saying.
An epidemiological probe into the outbreak, which reportedly began on 9 September, has also been ordered. The final cause of the deaths will be ascertained upon the completion of the investigation.
(With inputs from PTI, The Indian Express, and IANS.)
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