85 women inmates of Byculla jail hospitalised with ‘food poisoning’

87 patients include two pregnant women, a 4-month-old infant, one male prisoner They complained of vomiting, diarrhoea and nausea Jail officials await reports from civic body, FDA and JJ Hospital

At least 87 inmates of Byculla jail, including 85 women prisoners, including two pregnant women, a four-month-old infant and one male prisoner, were admitted to the staterun Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy (JJ) Hospital on Friday morning after they all complained of vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach ache and nausea. Initial medical diagnosis suggests they may have taken ill possibly due to food or water contamination. The prison has been receiving water supply from the BMC. The women fell ill on Thursday night and were attended to by jail doctors. Since their condition worsened on Friday morning, they were rushed to hospital after breakfast.

According to Rajvardhan Sinha, Inspector General of Prisons, “Our prison doctors and JJ hospital doctors came in and treated them after which they were shifted to the hospital n Friday morning. We admitted 81 of our jail lady prisoners at JJ Hospital. Their condition is stable. Water samples from the jail have been sent for testing to the BMC.The food samples have been sent to Food and Drug Administration department to ascertain the cause of the incident. We have cleared up the drinking water and filtered it again. We are awaiting the preliminary medical information from JJ hospital, food and drug report, and water department.”

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has collected food and water samples from Byculla Jail for testing. FDA commissioner Pallavi Darade said reports would be provided at the earliest to help investigation. The infant suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting since Thursday night was reported to be stable and was in the paediatric ward, where he was being exclusively breast-fed, as his mother too is undergoing treatment at the same hospital.

According to a senior doctor, inmates began to be admitted between 9 and 10am.“The first patient was admitted to the hospital around 9.40am and after that the number increased to 81. All patients were shifted to the medicine and neurology wards. Gynaecologists had to be summoned as there were two pregnant women admitted,” said Dr Mukund Tayade, Dean, JJ hospital.

Dr Sanjay Surase, Medical Superintendent, JJ hospital said, “We will obtain blood, stool and urine samples from patients to determine whether the source of the bacterial infection was food or water". JJ hospital is likely to submit a report on Saturday. Jail officials will conduct an inquiry into the incident, if necessary, based on the report.

"On July 15, some male prisoners were admitted to JJ Hospital after they complained of gastroenteritis and were detected with cholera. After that, as a precautionary measure, the doctors had advised giving out cholera medication to all inmates and staff. Since last night, the lady prisoners, complained of vomiting, nausea, loose motions, stomach pain and dehydration. As a precautionary measure, 100 gm doxycycline was given as a precautionary measure to all inmates and jail staff. Doxycycline is an antibiotic used to treat infections caused by bacteria and protozoa. It is useful for bacterial pneumonia, acne, chlamydia infections, early Lyme disease, cholera and syphilis. I cannot comment if the medication could have caused the episode. Only pathological reports can clarify. The four- month-old child is breast fed. He was not given medication, but medical reports will reveal the cause,” added Sinha.

However, doctors have ruled out the possibility of a drug reaction causing the complications. As per the treating doctor, a number of bacteria -- including salmonella, amoebae or Vibrio cholera -- could have caused the symptoms. Test reports will help nail down the culprit.

“To curb the spread of cholera, as a precautionary measure, the inmates were given medicinesdoxycycline as a prophylactic medicine. But these medicines don't cause any such complications, so it is baseless to blame any kind of drug reaction," said Dr Wiqar Shaikh, professor of medicine at JJ Hospital. Presently, they are given intravenous medicines, antibiotics to prevent gastro-enterological infections.

Water samples from the jail have been sent for testing to the BMC. The food samples have been sent to FDA department to ascertain the cause of the incident. We have cleared up the drinking water and filtered it again. We are awaiting the preliminary medical information from JJ hospital, food and drug report, and water department RAJVARDHAN SINHA INSPECTOR GENERAL OF PRISONS