RAWALPINDI, June 19: The occurrence of diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases is increasing rapidly in the city due to supply of contaminated water, medical sources said on Sunday.

The exact intensity of the problem cannot be quantified due to absence of an accurate health management information system in the teaching hospitals.

Besides, an equal number of patients of gastroenteritis go undocumented as they receive treatment at private clinics or home.

Dr Abass Hayat, professor of pathology at the Rawalpindi General Hospital, said the water tests conducted at his laboratory had revealed that water being supplied to the city contained a high content of E.coli.

Director water supply, Water and Sanitation Agency, Malik Akram, accepted that complaints about contamination of water in the supply line were being received. He said the problem was scattered and no single area could be pointed out as the most- affected one.

A consumer said that erratic supply of water was a major cause of the problem. “A negative pressure is created in the pipes in the absence of water, causing sewage from the surroundings to enter the line.” “This contaminated water reaches the people who consume it without boiling, resulting in an increase in gastroenteritis cases,” he added.

Ice being sold in the city is another major cause of the problem as they are manufactured under unhygienic conditions, while the use of contaminated water in the manufacture of ice is also common. District Health Officer Dr Shoaib Khan said the health department had collected water samples from the supply line, tubewells and ice factories. However, he added, the results of the analysis were being awaited. The last such analysis by the department had showed a massive microbial contamination.

Sources said that water was poorly chlorinated before being supplied from Rawal Lake, leading to coliform contamination, as the bacteria cannot be removed through mere filtration.