Children are the worst victims. The disease claimed two children in the last three days, it was learnt unofficially.

They are Kuddus, son of Abdus Samad Kheru of Botlagari village and Sharif, son of Afiluddin of Khata Modhupur Khalisha village.

Thirty pneumonia patients got admitted in Syedpur 50-bed Hospital in two days. Of them the condition of nine months old Torikul, five months old Maruf and 10 months old Biplob is critical.

However, the district health control room sources could not confirm the deaths. On contact, they told this correspondent they do not maintain any registrar of pneumonia patients.

Meanwhile, after a few days' pause the diarrhoea situation worsened again in 22 villages in Syedpur. More than 100 people including children and women were admitted to Syedpur hospital in last two days. The disease attacked over 1,000 people anew.

District Health Control Room sources revealed that 226 diarrhoea patients were admitted in all the upazila health complexes including two 50-bed hospitals in Syedpur and Nilphamari in the last three days. Of them 83 diarrhoea patients were admitted in Syedpur hospital only.

Most of the patients belong to poor class families.

On average, three diarrhoea patients took admission in the hospitals each hour on Thursday and Friday. Eighteen diarrhoea patients were admitted from 8am to 2pm on Wednesday in presence of local newsmen. Of them condition of 16 patients were very critical. They were Fatema Begum,45, of Munsi-para, Nargis,6, of Subornokhali village, Siraj,35, of Bansh Bari village, Rashed,5, of Shaskandor village, Roksana,7, of Shaskandor village, Aduri,3, of Shaskandor village, Sabbir,3, of Dolna village, Anwari,40, and Beauty of Kaya Golahat village, Saddam of Kaya Mistripara village, Rabeya of Botlagari village, Morjina,18, of Shaskandor village, Joina Khatun,58, of Kalachand village, Zahidul,3, of Kahsiram Belpukur village and Rumi,20, of Kundol village.

There is an acute accommodation problem in the hospital. Newsmen observed that many diarrhoea patients had been taking treatment on the floor.

The Resident Medical Officer (RMO) of Syedpur 50-bed Hospital, Shahidullah Azizi told newsmen that there is no scarcity of saline in his hospital. On contact, local physicians told journalists, consumption of inedible food by poor people during pre-harvest period of 'aman' paddy is the reason of outbreak of the disease in such an alarming form.

However, Dr Azizi termed the diarrhoea situation to be in their control.