LAYYAH - Two people have died and around 40 hospitalised after a gastroenteritis outbreak in Chak 393 TDA, some 26 kilometres away from here, in the last three days. It has been learnt that all hospitals in the district have been put on high alert.

Rafique and Shamim Bibi were the first victims of gastroenteritis outbreak and died on Wednesday. When relatives and locals visited Rafique`s bereaved family on Thursday and Friday for mourning and Qul, they were also struck by the same illness.

As the number of patients gradually rose, two wards of the DHQ Hospital were evacuated for the gastro patients and now around 40 patients are being treated there.

DHQ Hospital medical superintendent Dr. Ghulam Mustafa said that special wards have been established for gastro patients. He said all of them were being provided medical care along with free medicines and they were recovering. He appealed to the people to drink boiled water.

Health EDO Dr. Mukhtar Shah maintained that a special team of doctors was treating the patients while another team had visited Chak 393-TDA and provided healthcare to patients who could not be hospitalised.

The EDO said usage of water of all hand-pumps and suction pumps had been stopped and samples of water from these pumps had been sent to the Institute of Public Health in Lahore for examination.

Health education was also being given to residents of the village and surrounding localities and water purification tablets were also being distributed among them, he said.