Title
Cholera outbreak and water resources: Linkages between consumption, infection spread at Mehar village, Sagar district in India
Authors
Shailendra Kumar Patne1,*, Durgesh Kumar Sharma1, Indu Jyotsna Ekka1 & Kavita N Singh2
Affiliation
1Department of Community Medicine, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India; 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India; *Corresponding author
Shailendra Kumar Patne - E-mail: drpatne@rediffmail.com; Phone: +91 9425015929
Durgesh Kumar Sharma - E-mail: durgesh.sharma1512@gmail.com; Phone:
+91 9826956701
Indu Jyotsna Ekka - E-mail: dr.indujyotsna@gmail.com; Phone: +91
9685320522
Kavita N Singh - E-mail: drkavitasingh67@gmail.com; Phone: +91
9300102194
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received March 1, 2026; Revised March 31, 2026; Accepted March 31, 2026, Published March 31, 2026
Abstract
A cholera outbreak in Mehar village, Sagar District, Madhya Pradesh (July 2024) affected 901 individuals (attack rate 18.02%) with 4 deaths among elderly comorbid patients. Epidemic investigation confirmed Vibrio cholerae and faecal coliforms in rectal swabs, stool samples and water from the community bore well serving as the primary drinking source near the temple. Despite multiple alternative water sources available, this single bore well supplied most households, schoolchildren (37%) and open defecation-practising communities (80%). Contaminated bore well water represented the point source of outbreak, exacerbated by open defecation despite absence of visible contamination markers nearby. Thus, we show outbreak investigation methodology by demonstrating integrated water source tracing and rapid microbiological confirmation as essential strategies for cholera containment in rural settings.
Keywords
Cholera outbreak, vibrio cholerae, water resources, epidemic investigation
Citation
Patne et al. Bioinformation 22(3): 1834-1839 (2026)
Edited by
Vini Mehta
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
