BERHAMPUR: An 8-year-old girl died and 40 others were taken ill at a residential school in Bissamcuttack block of Rayagada district on Saturday.
The deceased was identified as Lagana Urlaka, a student of Class IV at Bariguda Nalini Vidyamandir located in Chatikana panchayat.
Sources said, over 40 students complained of loose motion, nausea and vomiting after dinner on Friday evening. They were rushed to Bissamcuttack community health centre (CHC). Their parents were also informed about the situation.
Meanwhile, later in the night, Lagana’s parents took her back to her home, thinking she had recovered. However, she died on Saturday morning. Two of the hospitalised students were shifted to the Rayagada district headquarters hospital (DHH) in the evening. The exact cause of the gastro outbreak is yet to be ascertained though food poisoning is believed to be a reason.
Health officials are monitoring the situation and have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the outbreak. A medical team reached the school premises in the morning, conducted health check-ups and initiated necessary interventions.
Bissamcuttack tehsildar K Venkateswar Reddy, along with a team of doctors, visited the school and interacted with the students undergoing treatment. He advised parents not to take their children home until they are discharged from hospital.
Students told officials that they had eaten their regular meal the previous night but soon developed loose motion, vomiting and fever.
On the directions of collector Ashutosh Kulkarni, water samples as well as food samples, including saagu and charu, have been collected and sent for examination. Health officials have also disinfected the campus.
The principal of the school and the warden of the hostel couldn’t be contacted for comments.