BHUBANESWAR: Following 391 deaths due to renal failure in the last 11 years, the State Government has swung into action to prevent people from falling prey to kidney ailments in Narasinghpur and Badamba blocks of Cuttack district.
Chairing a high level meeting at the Secretariat on Thursday, Health and Family Welfare Minister Pratap Jena directed officials to start acting on the remedial measures suggested by different agencies engaged to find out causes behind spurt in renal failure cases in the region.
‘’Director of Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) has been made the nodal officer to monitor the activities while Cuttack Collector will review the progress of work regularly. If required, we will seek assistance of international research agencies to ascertain the causes and initiate preventive measures,’’ Jena told mediapersons.
The Health Minister said three dialysis machines will be provided to Narasinghpur and provisions for three semi-auto analysers would be made at Narasinghpur and Kanpur on a priority basis. The analysers will help regular test of blood and urine of suspected patients.
‘’Apart from Badamba and Narasinghpur, kidney related ailments have emerged as a cause of concern in some other areas of the State. As there is dearth of nephrologists, trained technicians will be appointed to operate dialysis units,’’ he informed.
According to Health Department statistics, 1,187 persons in 163 villages under 36 panchayats in Narasinghpur block have been affected by kidney diseases since 2006, while 366 have succumbed to it and 821 are undergoing treatment.
Similarly, of 360 persons affected in 43 villages under 19 panchayats in Badamba block, 25 have died so far while 355 are under treatment.
Jena said researches by different agencies including RMRC, SCB Medical College and Hospital, Utkal Kidney Foundation and Asian Institute of Public Health (AIPH) will continue to find out the reasons behind the rising renal failure cases.
Besides, diagnosis activities under non-communicable diseases control programme would be intensified in areas where cases of blood pressure, diabetes and cancer are found significantly, he added.