Panaji: Cholera cases among trawler workers at the Cutbona jetty and on the Mobor side have crossed the 100-mark, with five workers suspected to have died from the disease in two weeks.
The health department is working overtime to ensure cases don’t spread to the local population.
According to the health department, 27 trawlers at the Cutbona jetty and 8 trawlers at Mobor are affected.
The department is receiving around 8 to 10 cases each day from the area, out of which four require hospitalisation.
Most of the patients are from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Around 30 of the 108 cases have been hospitalised at South Goa District Hospital and GMC. Around 50 have also recovered.
“Patients at South Goa District Hospital are isolated in a ward with separate toilets identified for them. Sanitisers and gloves are being used, and the cleaning process in the hospital has doubled to keep infection under control,” said state epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar.
Those who are brought to the health centre in time are started on treatment, but many are brought in late.
“The problem is that they are out on the trawler fishing for seven days and come to us late when they are already completely dehydrated, and then the recovery period is longer,” he said.
For every 100 persons infected, 50 will not show symptoms but still shed bacteria, Betodkar said.
The overcrowding on the trawlers, coupled with unhygienic conditions, is worsening the situation.
The department has provided ORS packets to all trawler owners and made these available at all points at the jetty, he said.
“We need cooperation from all stakeholders to prevent it from spilling over to the local population,” he said.
The department is urging boat owners to bring their workers immediately at the first episode of vomiting or diarrhoea because in cholera one can deteriorate very quickly with multiple episodes of rice watery stools within one to two hours.
As it is spread via the faecal-oral route, stool to mouth, where bacteria remain on hands or nails and then spread through towels, food, and water.
“Hand washing and boiling water are of utmost importance. Hand washing with soap before eating and after going to the toilet are simple yet highly effective to curb the spread,” he said.
“Good sanitation and hygiene can combat the outbreak,” Betodkar added.
