LAHORE, June 29: The City District Government’s health department says the contamination of potable water by sewage caused seven deaths and affected a large number of people in Ravi Road’s Kasurpura, Marzipura and Shafiqabad areas. The department has sent water and stool samples for clinical analysis to find out the exact cause of the deaths.

Executive District Officer (Health) Dr Abdul Qayyum said the clinical report would be available by Thursday (today). He was, however, seemed convinced that it was water contamination and not cholera, as reported by some TV channels.

Answering a question, he said that one death was reported from Mayo Hospital and five to six from private hospitals.

Considering the gravity of the situation, the CDG health department constituted a task force to conduct an epidemiological study of the area to identify the source of infection.

The department also established eight medical camps in the affected area where over 1,000 patients were examined and treated.

Besides, 35 mobile medical teams comprising lady health workers and sanitary inspectors are on a door-to-door visit, providing necessary medicines, including injections/ringer’s lactate, packets of ORS and other necessary antibiotics to the affected population. Each mobile team, according to authorities, is covering 200 houses.

The CDG health department has requested the Punjab health services DG to borrow specialized services of two paediatricians, one gastroenterologist and one epidemiologist from tertiary level hospitals for effective treatment.

The department has also requested the district nazim to impose Section 144 in the affected area to check the sale of ice-balls/candies and cut fruits etc.

The CDG has sent water tankers to the affected areas to provide clean drinking water to residents, while the Wasa officials had started replacing potable water pipelines on emergency basis.

Meanwhile, Punjab health minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed, provincial minister Rufin Julius, District Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood, Health EDO Dr Abdul Qayyum and other officials visited the affected area.

The district nazim ordered suspension of Wasa’s area SDO Muhammad Ashraf. The nazim also visited the houses from where deaths were reported. The health minister said that there were no symptoms of cholera’s outbreak. He said that gastroenteritis often erupted in this season due to unclean atmosphere and viral infection.

The Mian Munshi Hospital, Bund Road, has been put on red alert where 200 beds have been reserved.

Affected residents meanwhile staged a protest demonstration against Town Nazim Tariq Sana Bajwa and MNA Pervaiz Malik.