Dr Marasini, who visited the area on Monday to take account of the spread of diarrheal disease, said that even at the peak of monsoon season people were being deprived of drinking water. "Locals are compelled to purchase water from private tanker operators even in the height of monsoon," said director Marasini, adding, "We suspect that contaminated tanker water is responsible for the spread of diarrheal infection in the area."According to Dr Marasini, people of Kuleshwar, Balkhu, and Kalimati areas have been purchasing water from tanker operators since a long time because as the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) has failed to supply water to them. The massive earthquake in April caused huge damage to the KUKL pipelines in the area, disrupting water supply and forcing people to purchase unsafe water.
The EDCD said hundreds of people in Kuleshwar have been infected with diarrheal infection at once. Dr Marasini informed that every day over forty patients infected with diarrheal disease have been visiting Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital (STIDH).
Doctors at the STIDH suspect cholera outbreak at the settlement. The STIDH has even conducted hanging drop test of stool samples of five patients and the result were positive. The samples have been sent to the National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) of the Department of Health Services (DoHS) for further confirmation. The NPHL said that it will give its report on Wednesday.
The hanging drop test is a well established method for examining living, unstained, very small organisms.
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