Panaji: At least 400 people have been hospitalised in Goa after a severe jaundice outbreak.

Doctors said there has been a sharp rise in jaundice cases of Hepatitis-E virus strain due to abundant monsoon rains this summer. The Hepatitis-E virus, which is fatal for pregnant women and children, was first detected in New Delhi in the 1980s. It spreads through contaminated water and by coming in contact with the body fluids of an infected person. The incubation period for the virus is 20-30 days.

The state government has put a ban on all roadside eateries and vendors selling food under unhygienic conditions.

Suresh Amonkar, the state's Health Minister, said that the move was necessary to check further spread of the disease. "What we found was that they (eating joints) were selling food items without covering them. The food was stale. It was not fresh. Some of such facts have been noticed. Because it could soon meet an epidemic proportion, we want to spread awareness and a cleanliness drive among these eateries. There are vendors selling food next to the gutters, in the most unhygienic of conditions. So we had to do this," he said.

The ban, however, is temporary and would be lifted as soon as the vendors meet the health standards laid down by the government.

Authorities have also undertaken a massive chlorination drive and a double dose of chlorine is being administered to ensure complete elimination of Hepatitis E.

ANI