Malappuram: Kerala's Health Department has issued an alert and stepped up preventive measures after new Shigella infections were confirmed in four districts — Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikode. Three cases each were confirmed in Malappuram and Kozhikode on Saturday, taking Malappuram's total number of confirmed cases to eight, News on Air reported. The wider alert follows the earlier development reported on Saturday, when two more students at a school in Vadakara, Kozhikode, tested positive for shigellosis.

Source: News on Air

In Malappuram district, the three latest infections were linked to food eaten at eateries in the Nilambur area — a four-year-old girl who had eaten Alfaham bought from a shop in Amarambalam, and two other people who had eaten Mandi from an eatery in Palunda. Another 23 people in the affected area have reported symptoms including diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain and are undergoing treatment at hospitals, while panchayat and health department officials have inspected two shops suspected of being linked to the infections.

Kozhikode school cluster — the earlier development

The Kozhikode cases centre on the cluster first reported on Saturday: two more children from Meppayil Senior Basic School in Vadakara tested positive for shigellosis, taking the school's confirmed cases to three. The three children, aged 7, 8 and 10, are being treated at the Government District Hospital after developing fever, vomiting and diarrhoea, The Hindu reported. In all, 104 people reported similar symptoms between Saturday and Monday after the school midday meal served on October 30, which included egg curry and curd; officials have not established the exact source of contamination.

A team led by the District Medical Officer inspected the school, and food and water samples have been sent for laboratory examination. Chlorination was carried out in 290 houses in the areas surrounding the school, and health workers visited around 950 homes to distribute oral rehydration salts (ORS) to help families manage dehydration.

What is Shigella?

Shigella is a bacterial infection that causes diarrhoea, fever and stomach pain. It spreads through contaminated food and water and through poor hand hygiene. Health officials advise drinking safe water, washing hands with soap and seeking care early, especially for children.

What happens next: laboratory results for the school food and water samples are awaited, eatery inspections in the Nilambur area are continuing, and the Health Department has asked people in the affected districts to report diarrhoea, vomiting or fever symptoms promptly so that cases can be treated and traced early.