Delhi govt decides to distribute free chlorine tablets

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The Delhi government on Wednesday rejected the Lancet report on presence of a drug-resistant superbug in city's tap waters but decided to distribute chlorine tablets to people free of cost as a precautionary measure against water-borne diseases.

A high-level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and attended by health experts of various agencies including National Centre for Disease Control decided to distribute the tablets to ensure that people do not contract any disease.

Representatives from MCD, NDMC and Delhi Jal Board, NCDC, Maulana Azad Medical College, Directorate of Health Services of Delhi government were present in the meeting. "There is no superbug in Delhi water. There is no reason to worry. The water being supplied is totally safe," said Dikshit, dispelling all concerns following the report by the international medical journal.

Health department officials said the government will distribute free chlorine tablets in its hospitals and dispensaries as water-borne diseases go up in the summer season. The Board will also supply chlorine tablets free of cost through its outlets.

The experts were unanimous in their opinion that there had not been any evidence of presence of drug resistance bacteria among cholera and diarrhoea patients and they continue to remain susceptible to the commonly used antibiotics.

Rejecting Lancet's findings of presence of NDM-1 gene in "cholera and dysentery causing bacteria in the samples of Delhi's tap water, the experts said there was no clinical and epidemiological evidence to support the claim.

"The experts were unanimous in their opinion that there had not been any evidence of increase in drug resistance in cholera and other diarrhoea causing bacteria and these continue to remain susceptible to the commonly used antibiotics," a joint statement issued by all participating agencies in the meeting said. Dikshit, who is also chairperson of B, said the water agency has been lifting around 400 water samples on a daily basis to check the quality of water.

Lancet had reported that deadly superbug NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1) producing bacteria were found in 51 out of 171 samples taken from water pools and two out of 50 tap water samples in the city.