The Hindu : Front Page : 69 die of gastro infection

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 27, 2007
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69 die of gastro infection

Sib Kumar Das

Contaminated water major cause

KASHIPUR: Gastro illness has claimed over 69 lives in two blocks of south Orissa during the last three weeks.

According to Rayagada district collector, Bhaskar Jyoti Sharma cholera has claimed 49 lives in Kashipur block of the district till Saturday. This epidemic has also spread out to adjoining Dashmantpur block of Koraput district. As per Koraput district administration they have recorded 20 deaths due to gastro infection.

It is alleged that most of the deaths due to the epidemic have not been officially recorded due to inaccessibility of the affected villages.

In Kashipur block 12 mobile medical units are moving around the affected villages. Vehicles are being used to pick up patients from remote villages to the seven medical centres in the area. Since Saturday courses of tetracycline is being administered to families at villages, where recurrence of gastro infection is occurring.

Four mobile medical teams have been deployed at the Dashmantpur block of Koraput district to check rise in gastro cases and to check more deaths. Doctors and health workers from outside have been deputed to the medical centres at both these blocks as emergency measure. A team of experts from the MKCG medical college that visited the villages under present threat gastro epidemic has found that consumption of decomposed dry meat and water from streams contaminated by human excreta is the major cause behind this epidemic.

It was found that people living uphill were less affected than those living downhill as streams are less contaminated uphill.

Open defecation by people living at remote villages is the root cause of the water contamination.

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