BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Government may have been avoiding the C-word but Vibrio cholerae, the bacteria behind cholera, has reported close to 1,500 variants triggering multiple outbreaks in the State over the years.
Scientific analysis says V cholerae O1 Ogawa El Tor biotype was responsible for at least eight major outbreaks in the State. It started from coastal districts before spreading to tribal pockets. It has undergone many mutations over the years and developed multiple drug resistance, making it harder to treat and increasing the risk of spread.
A latest study on cholera outbreaks between 1995 and 2019 revealed that as many as 1,492 strains of V cholerae O1 Ogawa El Tor have been isolated in 21 districts. At least 16 strains of O1 Ogawa serogroup were first isolated in Cuttack in 1995 and 166 strains of both Ogawa and Inaba serotypes were isolated in Jagatsinghpur, Khurda, Rayagada and Koraput districts in 2007. Earlier, 160 strains of Ogawa were detected in Puri, Dhenkanal, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj and Malkangiri in 2003 and 153 strains were isolated in Rayagada, Kalahandi and Koraput in 2012.
Senior scientist of Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Dr Bibhuti Bhusan Pal said Odisha recorded several cholera outbreaks in the last two and half decades. The El Tor variant of V cholerae was responsible for outbreaks in 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2012 in coastal districts with 1,09,431 reported cases. It later spread to the tribal districts. The first case was reported in August 2007 in Kashipur block of Rayagada and subsequently spread to adjacent districts.
The cholera outbreak after the 1999 Super Cyclone affected more than 10 million people. This might be due to saline-rich water along Bay of Bengal favouring V cholerae to spread its territory, Dr Pal said.
“We will conduct clinical studies on the samples collected from the areas of recent outbreak to ascertain whether any new strain has emerged and the lethality,” Dr Pal said.
However, the State government has shied away from attributing this year’s outbreak to cholera. In the State Assembly Health Minister Naba Kishore Das put the total number of deaths at 17 and attributed it to diarrhoea.
The Union Health Ministry also informed the Lok Sabha that nine ‘investigational diarhhoea’ death reports have been received from the Odisha government. The deaths occurred in 10 villages of Kashipur block of Rayagada district, Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr Bharti Pravin Pawar said in a reply to a question by Congress Lok Sabha MP from Koraput, Saptagiri Ulaka. Ulaka took to Twitter and said, “Am not sure if this is correct information as samples were sent to Bhubaneswar for testing and the patients were initially diagnosed as diarrhoea later confirmed as cholera.”
STUDIES SAY
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