Water borne diseases such as cholera, enteric fever and dysentery were expected after the tsunami, which hit the coastal areas of Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu. In the present study 151 drinking water sources were collected from the tsunami affected villages and relief shelters and tested for coliforms and pathogens. Nine well water samples were also collected for specific bacteriological analysis. Presence of coliforms was detected in 56 (37%) water samples. One isolate each of
Salmonella
Paratyphi B and NAG
Vibrio were isolated from two well water samples. There was no report of acute diarroeal diseases or typhoid illness during the post tsunami period monitored by a field microbiology laboratory for a month.
