ROURKELA: The Death Audit Committee, led by Sundargarh chief district medical and public health officer, on Saturday said nine persons have died of diarrhoea outbreak, thereby officially raising the toll. City administration, too, declared the numbers as official figures, while claiming that the collaborative efforts of Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) and Sundargarh district, and health administrations have improved the situation presently.
Presently, 53 patients are undergoing treatment across various hospitals, signifying a positive trend from the earlier count of 253 patients under treatment until December 21. Total hospitalisation has reached 711, with the majority being from Rourkela and its vicinity.
Although well-placed sources within the Health & Family Welfare Department strongly attribute water contamination to the outbreak, officials refrain from making any statement on this. An epidemiology team of Regional Medical Research Centre and SCB Medical College & hospital has collected samples to ascertain the exact reason for the outbreak, while the WATCO so far conducted a test of 1,500 water samples.