43 Officials To Oversee Healthcare Service In 5 Cyclone-Hit Districts

Bhubaneswar: Odisha government has deputed 43 senior officials and doctors of the Health and Family Welfare department to oversee healthcare services in five coastal districts which were badly affected by the extremely severe cyclonic storm Fani on May 3.

According to a notification from the health department, senior officials and entomologists have been sent to Puri, Khurda, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts for a detailed field study to ascertain the prevalence of infectious diseases and take adequate measures to contain them.

Of the 43 officials and doctors, 12 have been sent to Puri district, eight to Cuttack, nine to Jagatsinghpur and seven each to Khurda and Kendrapara districts.

During the field study, the teams will apprise the state and Union health departments and recommend measures to be taken in case there is possibility of epidemics breaking out, as advised by Dr BP Dutta, adviser of the neglected tropical diseases (NTD) of the World Health Organisation (WHO), from the State Health Control Room in Bhubaneswar.

The entire field work of these teams will be monitored by the additional director, VBD (vector borne disease) and the additional director, Public Health.