At least 81 female prisoners and an inmate’s four-month-old infant at Mumbai’s Byculla jail were hospitalised on Friday after they complained of vomiting and diarrhoea. They were taken to JJ Hospital.
The prisoners fell ill allegedly after the civic health department gave them a medicine on Thursday to prevent cholera, Inspector General of Prisons Rajvardhan Sinha told The Indian Express. “Soon after taking the medicine, the inmates started vomiting,” he said. “We sent them to the hospital as a precaution.”
Sinha said a male prisoner suffered from cholera three days ago and was given medicines. “To prevent an outbreak, all prisoners have been given medicines by the health department,” he told the Hindustan Times. He added that there have been no complaints of illness from the male prisoners or the jail staff.
Dr Sanjay Surase, the medical superintendent at JJ Hospital, told The Indian Express that the patients were suffering from diarrhoea, abdominal pain and dehydration. They are under observation, and two are in a critical condition, according to The Indian Express. But, unidentified doctors told the Hindustan Times that all the patients were stable.
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