Following the death of a four-year-old girl in Kozhikode district due to Shigella on Saturday, the Kerala Health department has stepped up preventive measures, Health Minister K. Muraleedharan said.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Mr. Muraleedharan said that directions have been issued to Food Safety officials to carry out checks at restaurants and wayside eateries to ensure that food safety norms are being followed.

“Three children were infected with Shigella in Kozhikode. One of them was discharged while a two-year-old child is in stable condition. Shigella affects the intestine with symptoms of fever, stomach ache, and diarrhoea. When several students at a school in Wayanad showed symptoms including vomiting, we feared the worst. But the preliminary report by a team of doctors from the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode says that it is not a case of Shigella. However, we have asked for the samples to be tested and a final report to be submitted,” the Minister said.

Mr. Muraleedharan said unclean water sources, as well as unhygienic restaurants and wayside eateries could be sources of the infection.

“Although restaurants are supposed to provide boiled drinking water to customers, many do not follow this. The Food Safety department has been asked to ensure this. Wayside eateries functioning in unhygienic conditions will be closed down. Instructions have also been issued to check the samples of well water and mid-day meals in schools. Local bodies also have a role to play in ensuring cleanliness in public spaces,” said Mr. Muraleedharan.