10 Cambodians die from drinking contaminated water
The death toll from drinking contaminated water in eastern Cambodia’s Kratie province has risen to 10, as 121 others were hospitalised, Om Phy, deputy police chief of Kratie province, said.
“Four more victims were confirmed dead at the Kratie Provincial Hospital and the Phnom Penh’s Calmette Hospital today (yesterday), bringing the number of the dead to 10, as the number of villagers hospitalised has reached 121,” he said, adding that the dead were four men and six women.
Villagers in Sre Non village, the tiny indigenous village in Chitborey district, have fallen ill and died since Thursday after they reportedly drank contaminated water from a canal in the village.
Om Phy said the village has about 50 families and it was suspected that the water was contaminated with insecticide that farmers used on their crops planted along the canal.
“It’s the start of the rainy season and I suspect that runoff water from farms that use insecticide made its way into the canal where villagers collect water used for drinking and cooking,” he said. He said that to prevent more cases, local authorities and health officials yesterday morning warned villagers of the dangers of contaminated water and distributed clean water and food to them.
Chheang Sovutha, director of the Kratie Provincial Health Department, said that to date, all of the victims remain hospitalised.
Health authorities have collected water and food samples from the two villages and are awaiting laboratory results.
“It is not an epidemic such as cholera or typhoid,” said Sovutha.
He added that the dead and sickened villagers exhibited the same symptoms including breathing problems, dizziness, vomiting and chest pains
“To prevent more cases, we have to educate villagers to stop using such water sources and to provide them with clean water or find an alternative source of water for them,” he said.
Outbreaks of food and water poisoning are not uncommon in Cambodia, where health checks are rare and safety regulations lax.