BHUBANESWAR: Health and Family Welfare Minister Mukesh Mahaling on Wednesday denied reports that Union Minister Jual Oram’s wife Jhingia Oram died of dengue.
Responding to a calling attention by former Health minister Niranjan Pujari and Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo, Mahaling informed the Assembly the allegation that the Union minister’s wife died of dengue is not factually correct. “She may have died due to some other health complications. The state is fully equipped to face challenges posed by dengue and has sufficient stock of blood and platelets. Regular drives are being carried out to make people aware of how to prevent mosquito bites,” he said.
The state has recorded 3,307 dengue positive cases out of around 51,000 samples tested so far this year. Maximum cases of dengue have been reported from Bhubaneswar, Rourkela, Sundargarh, Balasore, Mayurbhanj and Balangir.
The health minister said, since the dengue situation is under control in Odisha, there is a need to declare it an epidemic. The state government has also prepared a roadmap to eliminate filariasis by 2027 and malaria by 2030.
Long-lasting insecticidal nets have been distributed in malaria high burden districts and a mass drug administration campaign for elimination of lymphatic filariasis has been launched in endemic districts, he added.