Mizoram gastroenteritis outbreak: Death toll rises to 9; border with Myanmar sealed

Aizawl, Nov 17: The death toll from the gastroenteritis outbreak in southern Mizoram rose to nine on Sunday, prompting authorities in Lawngtlai and Siaha districts to seal the Myanmar border and declare four affected villages as containment zones, according to officials of the State Health department.

Lawngtlai deputy commissioner Donny Lalruatsanga told reporters on Saturday that another fatality on Friday night had pushed the toll in Kakichhuah village to six. Nearly 30 residents showing symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain and fever have been identified there.

Lalruatsanga said preliminary assessments suggest the outbreak may have been triggered by people entering Kakichhuah from Myanmar’s Salachhuah village in southern Chin State. “Both Kakichhuah and Hruitezawl, the latter being the primary entry point for people from Myanmar, have now been declared containment areas,” he said.

He added that the district health team led by the senior chief medical officer, along with medical personnel from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Doctors Without Borders, is monitoring the outbreak on the ground.

Senior CMO Dr Lalmuanawma Jongte said three of the victims in Kakichhuah were refugees from Myanmar while the other three were local residents. A Rapid Response Team has been constituted to treat the sick and prevent further spread of the infection.

Samples collected from affected persons, as well as water from the village’s traditional sources, have been sent to Zoram Medical College and Hospital (ZMC&H) at Falkawn near Aizawl. Laboratory results are awaited.

Kakichhuah, a remote settlement of about 130 households located roughly 142 km from Lawngtlai town, lies on Mizoram’s southernmost tip adjoining Myanmar. The village is home to several refugees from the Khumi community originating from Myanmar’s southern Chin and Rakhine states. All six victims in the village belonged to the Khumi community.

In neighbouring Siaha district, three people have also died in Lodaw village, where nearly 30 cases have been reported in Lodaw and Lomasu villages. The district administration has deployed medical teams to both villages, and samples of water and stool have been sent to ZMC&H for testing.

Meanwhile, reports from the United League of Arakan (ULA) and its armed wing, the Arakan Army (AA), indicated that more than 300 people in Myanmar’s Shin Letwa and Paletwa districts, both bordering Mizoram, have fallen ill with gastroenteritis-like symptoms. Around 30 have been admitted to facilities run by the ULA’s health department.

The affected areas in Myanmar lie close to Lawngtlai and Siaha districts, where cross-border movement is common and a significant number of refugees continue to take shelter inside Mizoram.

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