A 10-year-old girl in Gollahatti village of Rolla mandal in Madakasira Assembly constituency of Sri Sathya Sai district died reportedly due to diarrhoea on Tuesday (May 6) morning. Another 23 people in the village are also affected, and 10 have been admitted to hospitals, according to sources.

According to Health officials, the villagers have been using water from an agricultural well. The residents of the village, located close to the Karnataka border, are said to be exhibiting symptoms of the disease for the past four days. The first case was officially reported on Monday morning.

District Medical and Health Officer Fairoza Begum told The Hindu that the case of 10-year-old girl was brought to the notice of the medical staff at the local government health centre, and the parents were advised to admit her to Rolla primary health centre (PHC). The girl’s parents, however, visited a registered medical practitioner and took her home. Her house was located one-and-a-half km from the village and by the time medical staff reached the house on Tuesday, her condition had worsened.

Her parents then took her to a private hospital, which was one-and-a-half km from the village, where she died.

Following this, the district medical and health officials set up a health camp in the village. “Our medical teams are working round the clock, and the camps will continue for the next two or three days till the situation comes to normalcy,’‘ the DM&HO said.

Officials collected water samples from the village for analysis. According to the DM&HO, of the 23 affected, 10 were admitted to hospitals while the others were treated as out-patients. “Our staff went door-to-door and provided the villagers with necessary medicines and also ORS. We are closely monitoring the situation,’‘ she said.