Jaundice and other Liver Disorder Outbreak in Dadar, Mumbai due to contaminated water

Health authorities raced to contain the jaundice outbreak at a Dadar colony after local news papers reported how contaminated water had sickened over 60 residents, some of whom face the prospect of liver failure.

A team of civic officials and health workers inspected the water supply of 80-year-old Palan Sojpal society through door-to-door checks, and distributed chlorine tablets and packets of oral rehydration salts. They switched off the supply from two pipes over suspicion that a leakage had led to tainted water.

The residents had been complaining about water that “smells like rotten eggs” since June, but the BMC blamed it on the society’s own faulty pipeline network. The civic body re-examined the issue with greater urgency and seriousness on Monday following news paper reports.

BMC officials have asked all families in the society to boil water before consumption. It seems the contamination has resulted from an internal problem: the colony’s sewer lines are choked.

It is believed that the issue of tainted water was restricted to the society and there had been no complaints from other localities in Dadar.

Around 200 families live in Palan Sojpal and currently, 50 families have at least one member who is suffering from jaundice. Between June and September, almost every family made a trip to the hospital because of hepatitis E, the virus that causes the disease.

The BMC earlier conducted two inspections at the society after multiple complaints. The residents replaced the pipelines that officials had blamed for tainted water, and also cleaned the society’s tanks. The steps had no effect and cases of Hepatitis E shot up. Though the civic body on Monday cut supply to two suspect pipes, some families fear it’s another misdiagnosis as some houses are still getting water that smells bad and even has worms. 

Stress increases risk of death from liver disease

Researchers have linked high levels of anxiety or depression with an increased risk of death from liver disease.

The study from University of Edinburgh's Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences provides further evidence for the important links between mind and body.

Psychological stress can have a damaging effect on physical wellbeing. While researchers are not able to confirm direct cause and effect, this study does provide evidence that requires further consideration in future studies.
For the study, the team investigated responses to a questionnaire capturing psychological distress in more than 165,000 people.

They then tracked participants' progress over a 10-year period, examining who died and the causes of death.

Individuals who scored highly for symptoms of psychological distress were more likely to later die from liver disease than those with lower scores.

The study took into account factors such as alcohol consumption, obesity, diabetes and socio-economic status.

"Reasons for this are unclear as the biological links between psychological distress and liver disease are not well understood so far," the researchers said.

Previous research suggests mental distress can put people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

At the same time, risk factors for cardiovascular disease - such as obesity and raised blood pressure - have been linked to a common form of liver disease, known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

"In a similar way, suffering from anxiety and depression may be indirectly linked to an increased risk of death from liver disease," the authors wrote.

The study appeared in the journal Gastroenterology.

"Mystery pollutant' found in Yamuna, poses threat to liver and other body functions

Hundreds and thousands of rupees have been spent on Clean Yamuna project, but the river continues to swell with pollutants and other harmful chemicals.

The latest in the series of a pollutants found in the river is a 'mystery pollutant'.

According to a news report, the new pollutant was discovered by states water supply body, Delhi Jal Board (DJB). The new pollutant is said to be deteriorating the water quality to dangerous level.

According to doctors, the new 'mystery' pollutant is potentially dangerous and poses a serious threat to liver, respiratory tract and cellular function of human beings.

The doctors and DJB scientists claim that the pollutant is some of the most dangerous natural poison and they have called for more tests.

The pollutant came to the notice of DJB during a disinfectant drive. However, the officials are clueless about the origin of the pollutant.

But, DJB officials are hopeful and have said that a dose of chlorination would be sufficient to decontaminate the water body.

The scientists stumbled upon pollutant formed after the reaction of chlorine with ammoniacal contaminants and cyanobacterial bloom.

The Increasing Burden of Liver Diseases

According to a July 10, 2013 medical journal report, deaths from liver disease have increased significantly over the years. 

Cirrhosis -- damaged liver tissue and the loss of liver function due to a variety of liver diseases -- has risen substantially from the 14th most frequent cause of death in 1990 to the 8th most frequent cause of death in 2010. In the same time period, liver cancer went from the 39th to the 30th most frequent cause of death in the US. The prognosis of liver cancer is particularly poor with the medical community's limited ability to treat patients with liver cancer, with death most often occurring within six months. 

The most common causes of both cirrhosis and liver cancer are viral hepatitis, alcoholism, and obesity-related fatty liver disease. However, it is hepatitis C that is the most likely cause of the emergence of liver disease as a growing threat to American lives.

In May 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services released an action plan for the prevention, care, and treatment of viral hepatitis. Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended an age-based screening strategy that required a one-time test for hepatitis C for everyone born between 1945 and 1965. In June 2013, the US Preventive Services Task Force endorsed that recommendation by giving the one-time test of baby-boomers a "B" rating, which allows for payment by Medicare and private insurers for testing with no copayment by patients.

The ability of a patient to be tested and treated for hepatitis C at the earliest possible date allows him or her to get treated and avoid the hepatitis C's progression to liver cancer. Liver transplantation is expensive, the treatment for hepatitis C is both difficult and expensive, there is still a shortage of livers available for the number of patients waiting on the transplant list, and there are still too many Americans unaware of their hepatitis status -- 75 percent of the estimated 3 million US citizens with hepatitis C. However, policies and plans from the federal government linked to medical breakthroughs from the research community are creating the potential of a brighter future for patients with liver disease even as the burden of liver disease grows.