The panchayat authorities and the Health department have initiated intensive surveillance measures at Thalavady in Alappuzha after the blood sample of a 48-year-old man tested positive for Cholera. The patient is currently under treatment at a private hospital in Thiruvalla.

Thalavady panchayat will convene an emergency meeting on Wednesday after the confirmation of Cholera. "The hospital authorities have reported that blood samples returned positive for Cholera. They are awaiting the results of stool samples. We are closely monitoring the situation and have started preventive measures," said Thalavady panchayat president Gayathri B Nair.

The health authorities said the patient has other health ailments and liver disease. The District Medical Officer (DMO) convened a meeting in the panchayat on Tuesday. Health department officials said that finding strains of Vibrio Cholerae in blood, the bacteria which cause Cholera, is an atypical presentation. "Normally, Cholera is found in stool; it may have entered the blood through an ulceration in the gut, but this needs to be affirmed," a health official said.

The panchayat authorities have sent water samples for testing. "During summer, water is distributed to places south of Thalavady from other areas. However, where the patient resides is not one of these regions. We have collected the samples for testing," said Gayathri.

A 63-year-old resident of Thiruvananthapuram who died in Kowdiar tested positive for Cholera in April. Ajaichandran, a resident of Kowdiar, died on April 20. This patient also had other health ailments. According to the officials, there were similarities in presentation in both cases." In both cases, we could not identify any clusters. Family members of both patients did not show any symptoms," officials said. Samples will be sent to the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED), Kolkata, to detect the strain of bacteria.