Five More Children Test Positive for Shigella in Wayanad; Total Cases Rise to Eight

Kalpetta: Five more children have tested positive for Shigella infection in Wayanad, taking the total number of confirmed cases linked to an outbreak at a local school to eight, health authorities said.

The latest cases involve students of Mar Baselios AUP School, Koliyadi, whose samples were sent for testing on June 7. The infected children are girls aged five, seven, eight, nine, and eleven years. Three students from the same school had tested positive earlier.

Health Department officials said the condition of all children remains stable.

As the outbreak continues, 58 people are currently undergoing treatment in hospitals, including two parents and a teacher.

According to officials, around 470 students from the school sought medical attention after developing symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting, and fever. Students have been reporting to hospitals since June 3.

Despite ongoing treatment and monitoring efforts, authorities have yet to fully contain the outbreak more than a week after the first cases were reported.

The outbreak has also sparked criticism over the handling of the situation by health authorities.

Students with symptoms had reportedly been receiving treatment at various hospitals for several days before the first laboratory confirmations emerged. The seriousness of the situation was not fully recognised until two children tested positive for Shigella on Monday evening.

Concerns have also been raised because the outbreak occurred shortly after a four-year-old child in neighbouring Kozhikode district died from a Shigella infection, prompting calls for heightened vigilance.

Meanwhile, Health Minister K Muraleedharan reportedly stated that 21 students had been confirmed with Shigella. However, officials later clarified that only '21 samples' had been collected for testing, of which the initial three results returned positive.

Some students were discharged from hospitals before test results became available and that adequate precautionary advisories were not immediately issued to families. As a result, many children continued attending school and family members remained engaged in normal public activities.

The government intensified containment and preventive measures only on Tuesday, several days after the first wave of illnesses was reported, according to local sources.