An 18-year-old NEET aspirant diagnosed with hepatic encephalopathy died during treatment at a private hospital here, an official said on Saturday.
Victim Vaibhav Roy was among the 36 students from Jawahar Nagar area here who were suffering from the disease in the last few days. Of these, 18 have recovered, while the others are under treatment at three private hospitals.
Hepatic encephalopathy is nervous system disorder brought on by a severe liver disease.
Kota chief medical and health officer (CMHO) Dr. Jagdish Soni told PTI that three water suppliers in the area were found to be supplying contaminated drinking water to coaching institutes, hostels, and canteens. However, he said the exact cause of Mr Roy's death will be ascertained through a death audit, which is underway.
Mr Roy was a native of West Bengal but was living with his family in Kaithun town here for several years.
Dr Rajiv Sharma, who treated Mr Roy, said he was admitted to the hospital for fever and jaundice on October 5, but within a couple of days, he was diagnosed with hepatic encephalopathy.
There was a swelling in his brain which turned severe and he died on Thursday, Dr Sharma added.
Thirty-five other students were tested positive for hepatitis-A recently. Following this, a team from the health department collected at least 65 samples of water from various sources, Dr Soni said, adding three water suppliers were found to be providing contaminated water to coaching institutes, hostels and canteens among other places.
"At least 10-12 coaching students are getting treated for hepatitis-A for over a week," Dr K K Pareek of S N Pareek Memorial and Multi-specialty Hospital, where most of these students are admitted, said.
"The infection is most likely to have been caused by contaminated water and food as liver enzymes of the patients were found to be alarmingly high, but all of them are improving," he said.
Kota (city) additional district magistrate Brij Mohan Bairwa said the CMHO has been directed to probe the matter and a report from him is awaited.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Gang Involved In Rs 10 Crore Cyber Fraud Scam Busted In Rajasthan, 2 Arrested Fraudster Arrested In Rajasthan In Rs 56 Lakh Cyber Scam Case Rajasthan Compounder/Nurse Junior Grade Recruitment 2024: Registration Begins For 740 Posts "Go Ahead": What Arun Jaitley Told Raghuram Rajan About Tackling Bad Loans Google Slashes 10% Of Managerial Staff In Hunt For 'Googleyness': Report 'Buy Oil And Gas From US, Or Else...': Donald Trump Threatens Europe High-Security Jail To Come Up In Mumbai As State Passes Prison Reform Bill UP Board Announces 2025 Intermediate Practical Exam Dates, Check Schedule Parents On Mumbai Ferry Planned To Throw Their Kids In Water: CISF Rescuers Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.