Jaundice kills nine in a month in Maharashtra town

Kolhapur (Maharashtra), June 14 (IANS) Jaundice has claimed nine lives during the last month in a town in Maharashtra's Kolhapur district, a health official said Thursday.

Over 3,300 patients have been diagnosed with the disease since May 15, he said.

Government official Krishna Chavan, 50, Wednesday became the latest victim in Ichalkaranji, 40 km from the district headquarters of Kolhapur, said District Health Officer Harshala Vedak.

With Chavan's death, the toll due to the disease, which is caused by contaminated water, rose to nine in the town, he said.

All schools have been ordered closed till June 22, an official said.

Those who died due to the ailment included a pregnant doctor Deepali Admuthe, who was admitted to a private hospital for delivery 10 days ago. She died last week.

The town gets it water supply from two rivers - the Panchganga and the Krishna.

'The water supply from Krishna was stopped two months back owing to repair work and we suspect that Panchganga's water was contaminated due to which the disease spread,' Vedak told IANS.