JAGATSINGHPUR: Jaundice has claimed two lives in Jagatsinghpur in the last four days. The deceased are Sujeet Sahu and Puspanjali Barik, residents of Bamphapur village under Tirtol block and Jayabada village under Jagatsinghpur Municipal limits respectively.
While Sahu died on Wednesday during treatment at SCB Medical in Cuttack, Barik succumbed on Monday.
The outbreak of jaundice was first reported in the first week of this month when 20 persons were affected. As of now, 30 persons have been affected by the disease in the district. Most of them belong to Kujang, Jagannath Colony in Paradip town, Bamphapur village under Tirtol block and Jayabada under Jagatsinghpur Municipality. Consumption of contaminated drinking water is said to be the cause of outbreak.
Jagannath Colony is home to 2000 people who do not have access to piped drinking water supply. As a result, they depend on the Taladanda canal that is polluted by industrial waste. At Kujang, contamination caused by leaking water supply pipes has been identified to be the cause of the outbreak of the disease. As the supply water pipes have developed cracks at many places, the drinking water is polluted by filth of drain and sewage. The patients are undergoing treatment at different hospitals.
Collector Satya Kumar Mallick has directed Additional District Medical Officer (Public Health) to send a team of doctors to the affected areas and take up treatment of the people who show symptoms of jaundice. “We have advised the people against consumption of stale food and impure water,” he said, adding that Hepatitis A virus is one of the most common causes of jaundice.
Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Binapani Nanda said the health administration is prepared to meet any exigency and a team of doctors has been kept on alert for the purpose.