ROURKELA: Amid a mounting death toll due to a diarrhoea outbreak in Rourkela, health authorities are grappling with the situation, yet to get to the root cause or acknowledge water contamination as the source.
Confirmed reports from Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) revealed a diarrhoea patient, initially treated at Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH), was declared dead at the RSP-run Ispat General Hospital (IGH). Another patient succumbed to the illness at a private hospital, awaiting official confirmation on Monday. The total number of diarrhoea-related deaths in Rourkela reached eight, with RGH and Hi-Tech Medical College and Hospital reporting five and one deaths, respectively, until Sunday.
Rourkela ADM and Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) commissioner Subhankar Mohapatra said some evidence of mixed infections was found from the rectal swab reports of the patients at RGH. Asked if water contamination was responsible, Mohapatra said water contamination and other reasons are the likely reasons.
“As of now RGH has reported five deaths and some patients had co-morbidity including pneumonia and diarrhoea was one of the symptoms. The exact death figure in diarrhoea would be known after an audit of deaths at RGH and private hospitals by a death audit committee,” the ADM stated. Nine Rapid Response Teams have been deployed and ANMs and Ashas are every day covering around 2,800 families. Water testing reports showed residual chlorine is maintained, he further stated adding, that proper chlorination of piped water supply is being maintained as WATCO chief executive officer also reviewed the situation.
Mohapatra appealed to the affected individuals not to panic and seek treatment at the nearest health centres.
RGH sources reported no fresh deaths and emphasised that most patients, predominantly from slum areas, complained of receiving unclean piped water. A retired officer in the Health and Family Welfare Department said the most likely reason appears to be water contamination and claimed the local authorities delayed in launching health education and awareness which could have restricted the spread.