Koraput: After claiming 10 lives in Kasipur block in Rayagada district, diarrhoea has spread to different blocks of Odisha’s Koraput district.
According to official sources, at least 16 people have been affected by diarrhoea in Jeypore block of the district in the last two days. Earlier, the people of different blocks including Dasmantpur, Bariguma, Nandapur and Laxmipur had complained of diarrhoea. In every block, 30-40 people were affected and admitted to local hospitals.
In order to prevent any casualty and spread of the disease, officials of Health department have opened temporary camps in the affected villages of Jeypore block. They carried out checking of different water sources used by the villagers for consumption of water.
The officials have taken water samples from ponds, open wells and borewells for laboratory test to ascertain the cause of diarrhoea outbreak. They have sealed several wells and borewells after their water was found to be polluted for consumption. They were carrying out chlorination of water sources.
The medical teams are visiting the camp on rotation basis for health check-up of the villagers. Those having any complaint are given medicines free of cost while ORS is distributed among the villagers.
Asha and Anganwadi workers were making door-to-door visits to promote awareness campaign to desist from consuming directly from the sources. They were advising the villagers to follow hygienic practices and consume water after boiling it.
Speaking to the cause of spread of diarrhoea, a Health official said unhygienic living condition, consumption of polluted water and lack of awareness about the disease were primarily responsible for its spread.
“All 16 people having complaint of diarrhoea in Jeypore block have been admitted to district headquarters hospital at Koraput. They have recovered from the disease and their condition was stable,” said a doctor in the camp.
A local sarpanch pointed out that majority population of the area are tribals who lack awareness. “It is their normal practice on their part to drink water directly from streams and rivulets in forest areas where they go for collection of firewood or minor forest produce,” he said.
Besides, there is no provision of safe drinking water supply to villages of the block, the sarpanch said, adding that inadequate health facilities also contributed to the outbreak of water-borne disease, particularly during rainy season.
