Over 750 people have been attacked with the disease, 550 of them in Nilpjamari and 200 in Rangpur, according to official estimate.

Unofficial estimate puts the figure at 1,500 in Nilphamari.

Our Nilphamari Correspondent reported that with death of five more people in 48 hours, the toll shot up to 10 in the district on Thursday.

However, the District Health Department admitted three deaths.

The dead in the last two days have been identified as Abul Hossain Chowdhury,60, and Mamud Ali, 9, both of Dohelpara; Shamiron Bewa, 66, of North Jhunagach; Zillur Rahman,50, of Purner Jhar; and Masud, 7, of Khalisha Chapani village.

The shoal areas of the Teesta in Dimla upazila are the worst-affected areas.

Eighteen more patients were admitted to Dimla Health Complex on Thursday. Hundreds have been given treatment in the health complex. A new diarrhoea ward has been set up in Dimla Upazila Health Complex and a temporary diarrhoea treatment centre has been opened in East Chhatnai union to combat the disease. A number of mobile teams are also working in the affected areas. A large number of patients are at their homes, sources said.

Nilphamari District Civil Surgeon Dr Nazrul Islam on Wednesday visited the diarrhoea-affected areas of Dimla upazila.

He told The Daily Star that his office distributed 180 bags of cholera IV saline on Wednesday. He admitted that acute scarcity of cholera IV saline had been prevailing and informed this correspondent that a messenger had been sent to Dhaka to bring IV saline on emergency basis. Consumption of adulterated food is the reason for outbreak of the disease.

However, the situation is under control, he said.

Awami League (AL) lawmaker from Domar and Dimla constituencies, Hamida Banu Shova, on Wednesday visited the diarrhoea affected areas of Dimla upazila and distributed saline among the patients. She termed the government measures to be insufficient and demanded adequate assistance on an emergency basis from the government.

Our Rangpur Correspondent reported that diarrhoea claimed three lives from September 7 to 9 and attacked 200 others in the densely-populated Haragachh Pourosabha (municipality) area under Kaunia upazila.

The dead were identified as seven-month-old Sharifa, Limon,10, and Ajufa,25.

Acute shortages of saline and drugs are persisting in the affected area.

Health Department's field workers seldom visited the affected areas, alleged Abu Bakar, a leading social worker in the area. The health centre in the Haragachh Pourosabha area runs short of medicine. As a result, family members of poor patients are being compelled to buy costly medicine from the local markets.

The worst affected areas are Poddar Para, Telitari, Menhaj Bazaar and Doanipara.

At least 100 diarrhoea patients have been treated at Haragachh Health Centre. Of them, 25 have been shifted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RMCH), a hospital source told this correspondent.

The disease broke out for the second time in the Haragachh municipality. It first broke out in the first week of August, claiming two lives.

However, an official at Rangpur Civil Surgeon's office claimed that adequate steps have been taken to combat the disease.

According to an earlier report, one person died and 50 others had been affected by the disease in the flood-affected Gangachhara upazila in three days.