Amid Covid-19, Kerala faces Shigella scare after 11-year-old succumbs to disease

Authorities are attempting to clean wells and other drinking water sources as it a water-borne bacterial infection

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Kerala is also facing a scare of Shigella infection

An eleven-year-old child died of the infection in Kozhikode district last week and around 40 cases were reported.

While the health authorities were heaving a sigh of relief that it was contained, another one-and-a-half-year-old child was found infected on Wednesday. The child is under treatment at a private hospital in Kozhikode. The fresh case was reported from a fresh location outside the first cluster.

Since the bacterial infection was suspected to be spreading mainly through water, the district health authorities have initiated cleaning of wells and other drinking water sources in the localities where the infection was found. The people were also directed to ensure utmost hygiene. Diarrhoea and fever are primary symptoms of the infection.