Overview
- The family says they bathed at the Goratila waterfall on August 16 and four children from the extended family became ill and died between August 21 and August 31.
- Victims showed a similar course of illness with fever followed by stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea and doctors reported a rapid fall in platelet counts and one case of multiple organ failure.
- The Madhya Pradesh health department formed special medical teams and collected blood samples from about 50 people, including picnic-goers and close contacts, for infectious and toxicological testing.
- Local officials also collected water samples from the waterfall, ordered door-to-door surveys, advised residents not to use the waterfall water for domestic purposes and provided relief aid to the bereaved families.
- Autopsies have not yet been performed and authorities say the cause of the cluster remains undetermined until pathology and laboratory reports are completed, which will show whether the deaths stem from an infection, environmental exposure, or another cause.