SAMBALPUR: Diarrhoea outbreak in Hirakud town claimed one more life on Sunday even as the total number of affected patients went up to 171.
While the 42-year-old of Bhejrapali of Hirakud passed away, his wife is admitted to Hirakud Urban Community Health Centre (UCHC).
At present, there are 16 patients receiving treatment at Hirakud UCHC and 10 at Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences And Research (VIMSAR), Burla. The patients are experiencing symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, and fever. The Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO), Sujata Rani Mishra, has confirmed a death and mentioned that it is still unclear whether diarrhea was the actual cause. The number of new cases has significantly decreased. A team from the state visited Hirakud to assess the situation and surveyed the affected areas. According to our findings, the outbreak is believed to be caused by contaminated water supply. The reports have been sent for further analysis.
Sub-divisional officer (SDO) Gulshan Sahu, however, maintained that the outbreak might have happened for some other reason, as no traces of contamination were found in any of the samples tested.
The Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), has taken up a slew of measures to check further spread. Official sources informed that, superchlorination of water, leak detection and repairs, continuous quality tests besides tests by Jalasathis at consumers’ end during supply hours have been taken up. On Sunday, door-to-door survey and water sample collection in the affected areas of Hirakud have already been completed while the survey of nearby areas is underway.
Meanwhile, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has written to Union Health and Family Welfare Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, requesting him to immediately deploy a central medical team in the affected areas to prevent the spread of diarrhoea in the peripheral areas of Hirakud and Sambalpur. Pradhan has suggested to initiate steps to identify the root cause of the outbreak and launch a massive public health awareness campaign to prevent diarhhoea and protect people.