Waterborne disease diarrhoea has broken out in the northern district of Joypurhat, taking a toll of over 550 people infected with the disease over the past one week.

However,  no news of death has been reported during the period.

District’s Sadar hospital and other upazila hospitals have been struggling to deal with the overflow of the diarrhoea infected patients.

Diarrhoea infected patients are seen receiving treatment at the corridor and balcony outside the diarrhea ward of the Sadar hospital on Thursday.

According to the authority concerned, some 70 to 75 patients, mostly children, are getting admitted to the Sadar hospital every day.

District Acting Civil Surgeon Dr Tulsi Chandra Roy told UNB that over 522 people infected with diarrhea were admitted to the government-run hospitals in the district over the past one week from March 16 to 21.  

Of them, 65 patients were admitted to the 250-bed Sadar hospital over the past 24 hours, she said.

Physicians and public health experts suspected that diarrhoea infections have increased due to unhygienic food, adulterated or coloured iftar items and drinking contaminated water in different bazars and markets of the district.

Sadar hospital’s Caretaker Dr Rashed Mobarak Jewel said in the current dry season, unhygienic food, fried iftar items in oil, and while working on the drain work of the ongoing 4-lane road in Joypurhat district town, the municipal water line may burst due to negligence.

However, samples have already been sent to a laboratory in Bogura for testing the water supplied through pipes under the ground of the municipality.     

However, the report of the water test has not reached the district civil surgeon's office or Joypurhat municipality till the time of writing the report.

In addition, the municipal authorities are already advising the public to drink water by boiling.