BHUBANESWAR : In the midst of a nationwide concern over the deaths caused by contaminated drinking water in Indore, nearly 70 students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), Gurujanga in Khurda district have been affected by jaundice outbreak on the campus in the last one week.
The residential school, located 30 km from Bhubaneswar, has a student strength of around 560. Sources said, at least 200 have left the campus with their parents as jaundice began to spread among the students.
The outbreak has been linked to supply of contaminated drinking water to the students. One parent alleged that it has been caused by non-cleaning and purification of the water tanks on the school campus. However, the school authorities claimed that the tanks have been cleaned twice, during summer and winter, in the last one year.
With panic spreading in the area, the state Health department rushed a team to the school to take stock of the situation. Health minister Mukesh Mahaling said the department is on alert and closely monitoring the situation. “A district-level health team has already collected water samples from the area. A state-level health team comprising doctors has been sent to the school to undertake prevention and control measures while providing treatment to the affected students,” Mahaling said.
Director public health Dr Nilakantha Mishra, who led the team, said the issue came to light after one student was diagnosed with jaundice on returning to school after Christmas vacation.
Consuming street food from vendors outside could be a cause, says DPHO
“Following this, many other students seem to have been affected. We are reviewing the situation and taking necessary steps in this regard,” Mishra said.
Water Corporation of Odisha (Watco) general manager Rajendranath Nayak said water samples have been collected from the school and sent for testing. The results are expected within 24 hours. However, Nayak said the quality of water supplied by Watco is monitored round-the-clock. “We suspect that the outbreak could be caused by other reasons like eating food from outside. We are examining it,” he said.
Khurda district public health officer Dr Ranjan Mitra informed that a total of 65 students are suspected to have been affected and blood samples of 49 have been sent for tests. Samples of the rest of the students will also be collected, he said.
“Based on the test reports, the line of treatment will be decided,” he said while clarifying that no hospitalisation has been required as of now.
The DPHO also informed that Watco’s water quality report for the area last month has been normal. “However, we have found that students who are meeting parents every Sunday are preferring food from vendors outside campus. Steps are being taken to prevent street food vendors from setting up kiosks in 200-metre vicinity of the school,” he said.