BIRENDRANAGAR: The deadly diarrhoea epidemic claimed five lives in Surket,the district neighboring Jajarkot the most affected district in the mid western region of the country on Monday. According to District Health Office (DHO), three people died in Lagam and one in Lekhparajul on Monday and one in Ghoreta on Friday. DHO chief Ramesh Prasad Adhikari said that the diarrhoea has affected 51 persons in Lagam and around a hundred in Lekhparajul. The all party meeting under the chairmanship of Rudra Prasad Paudel, Chief District Officer on Tuesday morning sounded a high alert for controlling the epidemic. The meeting also requested the government to send the necessary doctors and medicines to Lagam, a remote place in the district. Health personnel would be kept on high alert in Salkot, Abalching, Mehelkuna, Bajedichaur and Kaphalkot as potential areas for diarrhoea. The DHO chief said that diarrhoea is a common disease during this season but it has occurred as an epidemic this year. He also said that the diarrhoea has spread due to polluted water and contaminated food.