Fifty four patients, most of whom were elderly, were reported to be dead in Ballia within 72 hours from June 15-17, prompting the government to send a team of senior doctors to the district to ascertain the true cause. While local officials suspect the heat to have aggravated some underlying medical conditions among the elderly patients, a doctor, who is part of the team, denied the cause to be heatwave.

Meanwhile, chief medical superintendent of the district Dr Diwakar Singh who first flagged the issue on June 16 and attributed it to heatstroke has been removed for making an “irresponsible statement” about the heatwave without any solid knowledge, deputy CM and health minister Brajesh Pathak said.

According to data shared by officials, on June 15, around 154 patients were admitted at the Ballia district hospital — the only hospital in the district where critically-ill patients are referred to. Of those admitted, 23 died. On June 16, 20 patients died out of the 137 admitted; and on Saturday, 11 people died. As the incident of curious deaths were reported, two senior doctors at the director-level were sent to Ballia and report to the administration, Pathak said.

“Prima facie, these do not appear to be heatwave-related deaths because nearby districts facing similar conditions are not throwing up similar death figures. The initial symptoms were of chest pain, mostly, which is not the first symptom for someone affected by a heatwave,” said senior government doctor AK Singh as reported by news agency IANS. He also claimed that the deaths could be water-related. The probe team has called for a string of tests and precautions to be observed as well as a survey of the area where the deceased belonged to ascertain the reason, chief medical officer of Ballia, Jayant Kumar said.

Speaking to ET, Kumar said “The way the elderly people are found to get affected during extreme cold, the extreme summers too may in some way could have aggravated the condition of those suffering from diabetes, hypertension, breathlessness, etc. However, the true cause will be known after the investigation is over.” He said the team of senior doctors sent to Ballia have directed that samples of water of the area be tested as well as blood samples and throat swabs of patients.