Jajpur, June 15: The death toll in the diarrhoea and cholera outbreak in Odisha’s Jajpur district rose to seven after two more fatalities were reported as of Sunday morning.
According to reports, two people died from diarrhoea and worsening health caused by cholera while receiving treatment. This brings the total to over 1,500 people affected and seven deaths.
The news comes after health officials confirmed the presence of Vibrio cholerae in water sources and stool samples in Jajpur. They also found that the contamination has spread to Bhadrak district.
Reports from Friday evening confirmed that eight out of 41 stool samples taken from Jajpur and nearby Bhadrak districts tested positive for cholera. Both areas have seen an increase in diarrhoea cases, leading to a high-level emergency response.
A central team of experts from ICMR, NCDC, WHO, and FSSAI will arrive in Odisha today to assess the situation. Along with the state's Director of Public Health and Health Services, the team will review the efforts to control the outbreak in Jajpur, which is currently the centre of the crisis.
To prevent the situation from getting worse, Odisha's Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja has started a large-scale campaign against cholera, diarrhoea, dengue, and malaria. In a high-level meeting on Saturday, he instructed that all sanitation and water-quality testing be completed within 10 days.
As a precaution, the Jajpur district administration has banned community feasts and advised against eating festive cooked rice during the ongoing Raja festival due to food contamination risks. Officials also mentioned that the situation is being closely monitored and that many patients are recovering steadily.
