MULTAN, Aug 17: Five members of a family died of gastroenteritis at Makhdoom Rashid village near here during the last 24 hours.

Nishtar’s emergency ward director Dr Muhammad Fahim told this agency on Thursday that five members of a family died of gastroenteritis at Chak No 6-T and four more patients had been brought to the hospital for treatment.

The deceased have been identified as Naik Muhammad (90), his wife Zohran Mai (85), daughter Zulaekha (40), grandson Qasim Ali (5), and granddaughter Robina Ashraf (3).

Four more patients, belonging to the same family, have been admitted to the emergency ward who include Nasreen Bibi, Hajran Mai, Muhammad Ramzan and Imran.

Dr Fahim said 18 gastro patients had been received at the emergency ward during the last 24 hours. Of them, he said, 15 were hospitalised.

Dr Imran Rafiq of the emergency ward said at the moment nothing could be said about the ailment that claimed five lives.

He said it could be gastroenteritis, food poisoning or cholera.

He said the disease would be determined only after the medical investigation was completed.

Muhammad Ashraf of the affected family told APP that patients suffered from vomiting and diarrhoea and expired within 24 or 48 hours.

He urged the district government to send special health teams to the affected village so that the disease might not claim more lives.

Multan district health officer Dr Imtiaz Elahi Paracha said two teams had been dispatched to the village which were working under the guidance of Dr Muzaffar Mahmood and Dr Zulfikar Dharala.

He said he had visited the village and found that the people were drinking dirty water. Moreover, their eating habits were unhygienic. They had been advised to use boiled water and adopt cleanliness, he added.—APP