BHUBANESWAR: The State government on Monday admitted in the Assembly that a total of 17 persons have died of diarrhoea, out of the 432 who have been affected by the disease. Making a statement in the Assembly, Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das said the diarrhoea outbreak started in Kashipur block of Rayagada district on July 13, 2022.
Stating that the block is the worst affected by the disease, the Minister said, so far 10 persons have died of the disease in Kashipur. In 11 villages of five-gram panchayats of Kashipur, 159 persons were affected with diarrhoea, he added. However, the Minister did not mention the cholera outbreak in the area though members cutting across party lines had expressed concern over the State government’s inaction to control the situation.
Referring to the situation in other parts of the State, the Minister said that of the 83 persons affected by the disease in Dasmantpur block of Koraput district, one person has died while 76 have recovered. New patients have not been identified in the State during the last two days, he said.
Similarly, 44 persons were affected by diarrhoea in Chandahandi block of Nabarangpur district of which one died. But no new patients have been identified in the block since the last three days, he also said. The Minister said that two persons died from the disease in Jharsuguda district while Sonepur, Nuapada and Gajapati districts reported one casualty each. He said rapid response teams have been deployed in all the areas. Besides, drinking water sources have been disinfected, he added.