Nepal, Sept. 4 -- Five of 15 drinking water samples collected from various sources in flood-hit Bidur Municipality in Nuwakot district have been found contaminated with E. coli.

"E. coli has been found in five samples out of 15," said Krishna Prasad Rijal, a senior lab technician at the municipality. "We have already chlorinated the water sources in question."

The finding comes as health authorities prepare for possible outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne diseases in the flood-hit districts.

E. coli is a microscopic organism that lives in the intestines of warm-blooded animals and is also found in faeces. Its presence in the drinking water indicates contamination with faecal matter, health officials say. Experts warn that contami...