At least 15 people were taken ill after they allegedly ate the meat of a sick goat in Aadarsha Rural Municipality, Doti, on Saturday.  

Aaijung Kunwar, the director of Shaileshwori Hospital, said the patients were brought to the hospital with complaints of diarrhoea.

Health authorities are not sure if the stomach bug 0utbreak was caused by goat’s meat as diarrhoea cases are being reported from different parts of the district in the recent days.  

Kunwar said diarrhoea cases have gone up in Dipayal, Silgadhi and Rajapur, among other areas in Doti, from mid-April onwards.

Dr Bhusan Mishra of Doti District Hospital said that four to five diarrhoea patients are being admitted to the hospital on a daily basis.

“The number of patients has significantly increased as compared to last year. People should be aware of what kind of water they are drinking and watch their eating habits,” he said.

Khanti Nepali, a resident of Selana in KI Singh-6, said she and several of her family members picked diarrhoea after drinking contaminated water.

Arjun Balayar, a health worker in Selena, said the number of diarrhoea patients is increasing by the day.

“Most of the cases, we believe, were caused by water contamination,” he added.