A serious outbreak of jaundice has struck the southern Indian city of Hyderabad with 167 people diagnosed with the disease over the past month, news reports said Sunday. City authorities have launched a door-to-door survey in affected areas, NDTV television network reported. Health authorities in the city, capital of Andhra Pradesh state, said tap water could be the carrier of the water-borne disease. People have been advised to boil drinking water. In areas where large numbers of cases have been reported ice factories and dairies have been shut down as a precautionary step. Dr. S. Sathyavati, a state health official, said the ageing and rusted water and sewage system in the old quarters of the city may have leaked leading to contamination. "The system needs a complete overhaul," she said.
