BALASORE: Panic gripped Bhogarai and Nilagiri blocks in Balasore district after at least 20 persons, including children, were found to be suffering from jaundice. The district health administration on Wednesday rushed two medical teams to the affected villages of Sahabajipur and Udaypur to take stock of the situation.
Though the villagers were suffering from the water-borne disease since Monday, the incident came into light on Wednesday when the villagers informed the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) about it.
CDMO BS Pani said two teams of doctors and health officials are camping in the villages. “As none of the affected persons was admitted to local health centres, the doctors visiting the villages have been asked to treat the affected in medical camp and rush serious patients to hospital,” the CDMO said.
The villagers said the children, aged between 10 and 15, initially complained of fever and as it did not subside with medication they rushed them to Digha. “As the villages are close to Digha we rushed them to Digha hospital where they were diagnosed with jaundice. Five serious patients were shifted to private hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack,” said a villager Binod Behera.
The authorities of Jaleswarpur CHC, however, denied the charges. Medical officer Bijay Ketan Das said he had sent a team to Sahabajipur on Tuesday and 14 persons were found jaundice positive. “They have been provided treatment and the health officials are camping in the village,” he said. Das said the villagers might have consumed contaminated water from a tube-well which was set up long back leading to the outbreak of the disease.
Similarly, seven persons in Chiminibhati and Godikhania villages in Nilagiri block have been affected. Local medical officials have been asked to put up health camps in the villages and create awareness among the people on consumption of clean and boiled water.
Medical staff camping in the villages have been asked to collect blood samples of the affected persons and water samples from the villages and submit reports by Thursday.