Tamheen Zahra, Nusrat Jamil.
Outbreak of Gastroenteritis in Gadap, Karachi during Summer of 2003.
Infect Dis J Jan ;13(1):3-4.

Outbreaks of gastroenteritis are common in Karachi during the monsoon season. Usually Vibrio cholerae is the suspected agent but etiological identification is rarely attempted because of lack of adequate diagnostic facilities. In July 2003, a large outbreak of acute gastroenteritis with several deaths was reported from Gadap, an industrial suburb of Karachi. We investigated the cause of this outbreak. Methods: Field visits to the area were undertaken, sufferers interviewed, and local hospitals visited. Water and stool samples were analyzed by bacterial culture, electron microscopy, and rotavirus EIA. Results: Area residents identified a well from which drinking water had been consumed in recent days as the potential source of the epidemic. Water from this well had been used for drinking and washing because of a cut in the water supply from the water board. The well water was heavily contaminated with very high coliform counts including enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. Rotavirus and yeast were also isolated from the well water. All three stool specimens tested from patients admitted in the hospital grew enteropathogenic E. coli. Rotavirus was identified from all three patients by electron microscopy and EIA. Conclusion: The outbreak of acute gastroenteritis in Gadap was related to consumption of fecally contaminated well water and was most probably due to rotavirus.

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