Diarrhoea spreads tentacles in Odisha; claims 9 lives, 595 persons affected

Bhubaneswar: The outbreak of diarrhoea in Odisha’s Rourkela and its adjoining areas since December 10 has claimed nine lives by Monday evening while more than 550 others affected with the disease were reportedly undergoing treatment in multiple hospitals in Sundergarh district.

According to Odisha public health director Niranjan Mishra, the conditions of as many as 20 patients suffering from the infectious disease were critical.

As per reports, the health department has deployed six Rapid Action (RA) teams to deal with diarrhoea cases. Four faculty members from Sundergarh Hospital, four junior doctors from the CDMO, 12 staff nurses and two technicians have been deputed to Rourkela. The District Collector has reviewed the situation and has kept stock of the medicines available in the hospitals. As this is a water-borne disease, the Collector has urged the WATCO to increase the amount of chlorine in the water supply.

On Monday, state labour minister Sarada Prasad Nayak visited various hospitals in Rourkela and met the patients. He assured the hospital authorities to extend all support from the side of the state government.

Speaking about the current status of the hospitals and patients, the public health director Mishra said, “About 595 persons have been affected till now. Out of that 343 patients were admitted to hospital. As many as 145 patients have been cured and discharged from hospital while 162 patients are currently under treatment at various hospitals across the State. Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) has a maximum of 102 diarrhoea patients.”

“Around 20 patients at the RGH are seriously ill. The Hi-Tech hospital and the Ispat General Hospital (IGH) have been informed. They will accommodate patients in their ICUs if needed,” he added.

“Six mobile medical units are working in Rourkela to make people aware about the disease and treat new patients. They are sending seriously ill patients to the hospital too,” he added.

Patients suffering from diarrhoea started arriving at the RGH on December 10 and the number of patients kept rising over the next few days.

The increase in the number of diarrhoea patients in the city has raised serious concern. As many as five places in the city have become hotspots for the infectious disease. Those places are Daily Market, Nala Road, Kishan Tola and Udit Nagar.