Gastro spreads to five more districts, minister visits Jajpur
BHUBANESWAR/JAJPUR: With fresh cluster outbreaks reported from five more districts, the diarrhoea and cholera situation in Odisha continued to remain grim for the sixth consecutive day on Sunday.
In addition to the severely-affected Jajpur district where 11 samples have tested positive for Vibrio cholerae, hundreds of cases have been reported from Keonjhar, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Bargarh, Puri, Dhenkanal and Kendrapara. Contaminated food and water are suspected to be the primary cause behind the spike in infections, prompting urgent field visits and high-level reviews by both state and central health authorities.
While 15 persons have died so far and over 2,000 affected in the clusters, the state government confirmed the death of five persons and 1,771 hospitalisations due to diarrhoea. Director of public health Dr Nilakantha Mishra said, of them, 1,508 patients have been discharged after recovery, while 258 are currently undergoing treatment. 'Five diarrhoea-related deaths have been confirmed through clinical investigations, and inquiries are ongoing into five other suspected fatalities,' he said.
A 14-member central team, divided into two groups, visited the worst-hit Jajpur district while Health minister Mukesh Mahaling undertook a field inspection of affected areas in Anandpur sub-division of Keonjhar, and Badachana, Dharmasala and Jajpur Road in Jajpur district.
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