Kozhikode: A 54-year-old woman from Mavoor in Kozhikode district died on Saturday, with health authorities suspecting Shigella infection to be the cause of death. The woman, Sunitha, a native of Parammal in Mavoor, was undergoing treatment for severe diarrhoea and fever at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, where she died this morning. 

Health officials said the woman had exhibited symptoms consistent with Shigella infection. Samples were sent for detailed laboratory examination, and the results were expected on Sunday. Sunitha was initially admitted to a private hospital. However, after her condition deteriorated, she was shifted to the Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment.

A senior health official said Sunitha had tested negative for Shigella infection during the initial stage of treatment. However, following her death, doctors have once again suspected the infection and ordered further tests. "We can confirm whether it is a Shigella infection only after receiving the test results," the official said.

With this latest suspected case, concerns over the spread of Shigella infection in Kerala continue to grow. According to official data, six people died due to Shigella infection in the state so far this year, while 196 confirmed cases were reported till Friday evening. Five of the six deaths were reported this month alone.

The state recorded 10 new Shigella cases on Friday, taking the total number of infections reported this month to 120. The first Shigella-related death of the year was reported in Kozhikode in March, when a three-year-old girl from Kuttikkattoor succumbed to the infection. The second fatality, involving a four-year-old girl, was also from Kozhikode. The third death was that of a 59-year-old woman from Malappuram whose infection was confirmed only after her death. In Malappuram again, a seven-year-old boy died of the infection last week. More recently, a 74-year-old woman from Aliparamba near Perinthalmanna also succumbed to the disease.