Gastroenteritis Outbreak in Southern Mizoram
Aizawl, Nov 17: The number of fatalities from the gastroenteritis outbreak in southern Mizoram has reached nine, leading officials in Lawngtlai and Siaha districts to close the border with Myanmar and designate four villages as containment zones, as reported by the State Health department.
On Saturday, Lawngtlai’s deputy commissioner, Donny Lalruatsanga, informed the media that an additional death on Friday night raised the count in Kakichhuah village to six. Approximately 30 individuals exhibiting symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and fever have been identified in the area.
Lalruatsanga indicated that initial evaluations suggest the outbreak may have originated from individuals crossing into Kakichhuah from Myanmar’s Salachhuah village in the southern Chin State. He noted that both Kakichhuah and Hruitezawl, the main entry point for migrants from Myanmar, have been declared containment zones.
The district health team, led by the senior chief medical officer and supported by medical staff from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Doctors Without Borders, is actively monitoring the situation.
Dr. Lalmuanawma Jongte, the Senior CMO, stated that among the victims in Kakichhuah, three were refugees from Myanmar, while the other three were local residents. A Rapid Response Team has been established to provide treatment to the affected individuals and to curb the spread of the infection.
Samples from those affected, along with water from local sources, have been sent to Zoram Medical College and Hospital (ZMC&H) in Falkawn, near Aizawl, for testing, with results pending.
Kakichhuah is a small village with around 130 households, located approximately 142 km from Lawngtlai town, at Mizoram’s southern border with Myanmar. The village hosts many refugees from the Khumi community, who have fled from Myanmar’s southern Chin and Rakhine states. All six deceased individuals from the village were part of this community.
In the adjacent Siaha district, three fatalities have also been reported in Lodaw village, where nearly 30 cases have emerged in Lodaw and Lomasu villages. The district administration has dispatched medical teams to both locations, and samples of water and stool have been sent to ZMC&H for analysis.
Additionally, reports from the United League of Arakan (ULA) and its military branch, the Arakan Army (AA), have indicated that over 300 individuals in Myanmar’s Shin Letwa and Paletwa districts, which border Mizoram, are experiencing gastroenteritis-like symptoms. Approximately 30 patients have been admitted to facilities operated by the ULA’s health department.
The affected regions in Myanmar are in close proximity to Lawngtlai and Siaha districts, where cross-border movement is frequent, and a considerable number of refugees continue to seek refuge in Mizoram.
