BERHAMPUR: Panic has gripped residents of several villages in Kotgarh block of Kandhamal district following a bout of fever and diarrhoea with new cases being reported on a regular basis.
At least nine persons including a pregnant woman reportedly died while several others are affected in Kanibari and Sindhibali villages in Durgapanga panchayat of the block in the last week. Purti Majhi (33) of Kaniburu was three months pregnant when she succumbed to fever and severe diarrhoea on Monday.
Sources said it all started on September 26 after several villagers complained of food poisoning after attending a death ritual feast. As both the villages are inaccessible, information on the villagers’ condition reached Durgapanga only on September 30.
A health team from Durgapanga and Kotgarh hospitals comprising Dr Siddhartha Barik, Dr S Meher and community health officer Chhotlal Suna visited the affected villages and brought five of the affected residents including a three-month-old baby to Kotgarh hospital for treatment.
The team also collected blood samples and distributed medicines among the affected villagers. Sources said the five villagers who were brought to Kotgarh were shifted to Baliguda hospital after their condition deteriorated.
As per Baliguda sub-divisional hospital medical officer Dr Sravana Kumar Sahukar their condition is stable. Though the disease has not yet been identified, unhygienic conditions, consumption of contaminated water and wild mushroom might be responsible for the condition.
Since some of the affected persons are suffering from high fever with symptoms of malaria, they were given medicines accordingly. The villagers have been advised to consume boiled water and desist from eating wild mushrooms.