JAJPUR: An outbreak of suspected diarrhoea has claimed the life of a 36-year-old man and affected 10 people in Baunsadola village under Anjira panchayat in Jajpur’s Dharmasala block. The deceased was identified as Badal Mohanty of Baunsadola.
The water-borne disease was first reported after Badal was admitted to Dharmasala community health centre (CHC) on Wednesday night. Two other villagers were rushed to the CHC with diarrhoea symptoms the same night. The next day, eight others from the village were hospitalised after being affected by the waterborne disease. However, Badal succumbed during treatment on Thursday night, officials said.
On being informed, chief district medical officer (CDMO) of Jajpur Dr Bijay Kumar Mishra rushed to the village to take stock of the situation on Friday. “Out of 10 affected people, four persons including three women have been discharged from the hospital after treatment. The remaining patients are being treated at Dharmasala CHC and they are recovering well,” said the CDMO. Health officials said it is suspected that consumption of contaminated water may have led to the diarrhoea outbreak .
Advising the villagers not to panic, the CDMO asked them to drink plenty of warm water and consume fresh food. “ASHA and anganwadi workers are visiting every household in the village and distributing halogen tablets along with necessary medicines. Work is also underway to disinfect all water bodies in the area,” Mishra added.
A medical team has collected water and stool samples from the village. These samples will be sent to the laboratory for testing to ascertain the reason behind the outbreak, said officials.