Bengaluru: 47 PG resident doctors from BMC hostel hospitalised; Health Dept denies cholera outbreak

Condition of the bathroom at BMCRI girls’ hostel.

Resident doctors reported a suspected cholera outbreak in the hostel, with one PG doctor reportedly testing positive for the disease.

However, the medical superintendent (MS) of Victoria Hospital and the Karnataka Health Department were yet to confirm this.

They stated that the definitive stool culture test results, that were needed to confirm cholera, had not yet been received.

BMCRI Dean and Director Dr Ramesh Krishna K told South First, “In all, 47 students are admitted to Victoria Hospital.”

He added: “All presented with loose stools and dehydration. They have been diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis and all are stable.”

He also said: “Samples have been sent for further investigations and treatment is being provided in the form of antibiotics and IV fluids. The results of the samples are awaited.”

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Authorities blamed

A cat peeps into the food stored on the hostel campus. (Supplied)

However, one of the resident doctors told South First on condition of anonymity that it was a deeply concerning situation.

The doctor added, “All those admitted [to hospital] are resident doctors. There is a cholera outbreak in the girls’ hostel.”

Blaming the authorities for sheer negligence over poor hygiene in the girls’ hostel, the doctor said there was no active involvement by hostel management even during the outbreak.

“None of the washrooms are thoroughly cleaned. They have not provided any of us with an alternate drinking water facility. The floors of the hostel are not cleaned,” alleged this individual.

“Literally everyone from the hostel is ordering bottled water from outside and the warden only gives a standard reply to complaints: We should leave the hospital and use our stipend money for accommodations,” added the doctor.

Sources said the college principal had been informed and he ordered them not to use the water for drinking, besides sending samples of the water for testing for cholera.

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‘No outbreak’

Meanwhile, the state government’s Health and Family Welfare Commissioner Randeep D told reporters on Friday, “There is no cholera outbreak in Karnataka. Every case of diarrhoea is not cholera.”

Randeep stated a few news outlets said on Friday that there had been a cholera outbreak, basing their reports on a quote from a doctor at a private hospital.

However, only six cases of cholera had been reported in the state in the last four months, he clarified.

“The IHIP [Integrated Health Information Platform] portal, which mandates the entry of all cholera cases, says only five sporadic cases were reported in April and one in March in Karnataka. Also, none of these were in a cluster to call it an outbreak,” explained the commissioner.

While three are from the BBMP limits of Bengaluru, two are from the Bengaluru Urban district and one is from the Ramanagara district.

However, the Health Department officials clarified that there is no cluster or outbreak of cholera cases. “The last reported outbreak was in December 2023, when there were 15 cases of confirmed cholera reported from the Bangalore Rural district,” said Randeep.

On March 30, a 27-year-old woman — a resident of a private paying-guest facility in the Malleshwaram area of Bengaluru — was admitted to a private hospital and received treatment after complaining of vomiting, he noted.

While it was suspected to be a case of cholera, the health commissioner clarified that the department learnt that her stool sample — examined for cholera by the same hospital — tested negative, and the patient even went back to her hometown after recovering well.

“There were reports that she had cholera and that there were more suspected cases from where she lived, and hence it was called an outbreak of cholera cases,” he noted.

However, that was not true as the other women in the paying-guest facility did not show any such symptoms, said Randeep.

“Samples of the drinking water from the facility have been collected and submitted for further testing. The reports are awaited,” he clarified.

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Private hospitals warned

The commissioner also said that a circular had already been issued by the Health Department regarding the precautionary measures to be taken during summer season.

The circular also warned of many cases of dehydration and lack of hygiene in hotels and restaurants the drinking water getting contaminated in Bengaluru, leading to vomiting and diarrohea — all due to water scarcity and extreme heat.

“One must not think that all cases of loose stools and vomiting are cases of cholera,” he noted.

Randeep added that private hospitals must mandatorily report all confirmed cholera cases in IHIP, and also ensure that stool samples of suspected cases be taken for culture test. Once cholera is confirmed, the data must be entered into the health registry, he said.

“We will be closely observing data from the private and government hospitals for the next few weeks,” he said, adding: “One must refrain from creating unnecessary panic in the state.”

There are 175 private labs to test for cholera and are registered under the IHIP portal. Of these, 158 are under BBMP limits and 17 in Bengaluru City.

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What is cholera?

Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal disease that can kill within hours if left untreated. It is known as a disease of poverty — affecting people with inadequate access to safe water and basic sanitation.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 13-40 lakh cases of cholera occur across the world every year, with the number of deaths ranging from 21,000 to 1.43 lakh.

“Most of those infected have no or mild symptoms, and can be successfully treated with oral rehydration solution. Severe cases need rapid treatment with intravenous fluids and antibiotics,” pointed out Randeep.

A release by the Karnataka Health Department to create awareness on cholera explained that the cholera bacterium was usually found in water or foods contaminated by faeces (poop) from a person infected with cholera the bacteria.

It was mostly likely to occur and spread in places that had unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, and inadequate hygiene.

A person could get cholera by drinking water or eating food contaminated with the cholera bacteria. The disease could spread rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of sewage and drinking water.

“The infection is not likely to spread directly from one person to another, hence, casual contact with an infected person is not a risk factor for becoming ill,” stated the release from the Health Department.

To test for cholera, doctors must take a stool sample or a rectal swab and send it to a laboratory to look for the cholera bacteria.

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Symptoms and prevention

The symptoms of cholera include:

• Diarrhoea (stool appears pale and milky),
• Fatigue and weakness,
• Nausea and vomiting,
• Dehydration,
• Electrolyte imbalance, and
• Low blood pressure.

There are several ways to prevent cholera. Experts urge people to:

• Drink clean safe water,
• Filter drinking water,
• Drink boiled and cooled or chlorinated water,
• Wash fruits and vegetables with clean water before eating or cooking,
• Avoid raw vegetables and fruits that cannot be peeled,
• Avoid consumption of cut fruits which are sold uncovered,
• Eat foods that have been thoroughly cooked and covered (and are still hot), and
• Make sure to thoroughly cook seafood especially shellfish.

(Edited by Arkadev Ghoshal)