BHUBANESWAR : The acute diarrhoeal disease outbreak in some villages under Kanas block of Puri district leading to death of four persons in a fortnight was due to consumption of contaminated water, the Health and Family Welfare department confirmed on Thursday.
Director of public health Dr Nilakantha Mishra said the diarrhoea outbreak in Gopinathpur and Gadisagoda GPs was primarily due to poor sanitation and contaminated water from river Daya. People who were affected had consumed contaminated water from the river.
“The situation is under control now and people in the villages are now being provided safe drinking water through tankers,” he said.
A team of health officials led by Dr Mishra had visited the areas on Wednesday. They visited Kanas CHC and interacted with affected patients to evaluate clinical management practices. Discussions were also held with medical officers on the treatment protocols being followed and efforts to manage the outbreak.
During field visits to Nuagaon and Jaguleipadar villages, the team observed the need for heightened community awareness and stronger interdepartmental coordination to control the disease. Though the villages have tube-wells, people are heavily dependent on the river.
The team urged the local administration to focus on cleaning blocked canals and providing additional drinking water tankers to the affected villages.
“The village-level health workers and volunteers have been asked to create awareness and discourage people from using contaminated river water. The activities will be continuously monitored,” Dr Mishra said.
More than 100 people were affected in the outbreak and nearly a dozen are undergoing treatment.