Diarrhoea claims five, many affected

At least three persons died of gastroenteritis in the interior Balishankara block, about 130 km from Rourkela, even as Sundargarh district administration swung into action with precautionary measures. 

 Sundargarh CDMO Ratnakar Choudhary on Sunday claimed that the situation was under control with no new cases of diarrhoea being reported and five persons undergoing treatment.

The CDMO confirmed that Raj Kumari Kalo of Khampur village, with severe symptoms of diarrhoea, was declared brought dead at the Subdega CHC in the wee hours of Sunday.  Another old woman, Balmati Amat of nearby Teilijhor village, died at the CHC late on Saturday while her grandson Rinku (10) had died, the previous day, the CDMO said. The three other affected members of the Amat family have been cured, he added.

Health officials accompanied by Sundargarh Sub-Collector Bimalendu Roy and the local Tehsildar took stock of the situation at the two affected villages on Sunday.

Two medical teams have been deployed for a week with a mobile health unit on door-to-door visit.

The administration has stepped up diarrhoea preventive measures by disinfecting water bodies and distributing medicines. 

Around two dozen persons had contracted gastroenteritis after consuming contaminated water from open wells.

Bhawanipatna: Even as the Health Department is gearing up to meet outbreak of vector- borne diseases, sporadic cases of diarrhoea have been reported from some parts of the district.

 Two persons died and eight have been affected by diarrhoea in Churagaon village under Kalampur block in the last three days. The affected have been admitted to the Kalampur primary health centre.

Every year during the monsoon, outbreak of epidemics like diarrhoea, malaria and dengue is reported from interior pockets of the district. As many as 192 villages of the district are in the inaccessible tribal belt and have been identified as diarrhoea-prone.

Official sources said in the wake of past experience, this year Asha Karmis, anganwadi and health workers have been trained for epidemic control, mobilisation of medicines and manpower to the vulnerable pockets.

According to the Health Department, 15 health workers have been deployed in Thuamul Rampur, Lanjigarh and Bhawanipatna blocks. Twenty-six mobile health units have been kept on alert to meet exigencies.

CDMO Gunasagar Saha said the situation is under control in Churagaon village.