BHUBANESWAR: Even as the death toll surged to 11, the Odisha government on Friday confirmed the presence of cholera-causing bacteria in samples collected from the affected areas of Jajpur district. Adding to the government’s headache, two more districts also reported the outbreak on the day.
Official sources said, of the 41 faecal samples sent to the laboratory for testing, eight tested positive for Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium responsible for cholera. So far, over 700 others have been taken ill across four blocks and one urban local body in the district. The official death toll, however, is five. “We are verifying the details of other deaths,” director of public health Dr Nilakantha Mishra said.
Health officials have intensified surveillance, water quality monitoring, and awareness campaigns in the affected regions, including Dharmasala, Danagadi, Korei, and Rasulpur blocks and Vyasanagar municipality.