MALKANGIRI: With the illness that led to the death of two students of an ashram school in Podia block of Malkangiri district still a mystery, student boarders have vacated the hostel of the residential institution. In a state of panic after the outbreak of the unknown disease, all the 182 inmates of the institution’s hostel have left for their homes.
Health officials are suspecting the unhygienic conditions at the hostel and the consumption of rice infected with fungus to be the reason behind the deaths. A team of doctors comprising medicine, microbiology and paediatric specialists along with a food safety officer visited the hostel of Kolaganda Ashram School on Wednesday to ascertain the cause of the disease that reportedly claimed the lives of Pradeep Musaki of Class VII and Santu Kurami of Class VIII.
Following the visit, Dr Budhikeswar Majhi of Podia community health centre (CHC) who had attended to Pradeep and Santu said the inmates, the team felt, resided in unhygienic conditions and the rice served to them was infected with fungus.
Dr Majhi told TNIE that both Pradeep and Santu were admitted to the hospital last week. They were administered medicines and their blood samples were sent for tests.
The team also visited Santu’s native Pujariguda village in Semilibanchha gram panchayat of Podia block. He fell ill again after reaching home from the hospital. But his parents, the team learnt, took him to a quack. The boy passed away on August 29.
Meanwhile, all the 10 students who were admitted to Podia CHC after complaining of similar symptoms were discharged on Thursday. Dr Majhi said he has advised the teachers to remain in contact with the parents of the ailing students.
“Once the students go to their villages, their parents may not go the hospital if their wards develop any symptoms,” he said.
CDMO Praful Kumar Nanda said samples including water and food from the hostel have been sent to a laboratory for tests and it will take at least 7-8 days to get the report after which the cause of the deaths can be ascertained. He said it could be a case of food poisoning as all the inmates have tested negative for Japanese encephalitis, Covid-19, malaria and dengue.