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Jaundice scare grips medicos

CUTTACK: The premier referral hospital of the State -- SCB Medical College and Hospital here -- is now under the grip of jaundice fear. Many medicos staying in the hostels are now suffering from jaundice forcing the other students to vacate the hostels.

The hospital authorities have taken the matter seriously and started a vaccination drive among the medicos staying in various hostels inside the campus. “We are collecting the blood samples regularly from the ailing students and till now we have detected at least 29 students having hepatitis-A virus,” said college principal P.K. Chinara. The affected students are now undergoing treatment in the hospital, he added.

But the hospital authorities are yet to locate the source of the disease. While the principal attribute the incidence of jaundice among the hostel inmates to eating contaminated food from outside, the hostel inmates fear the outbreak of the disease is due to contaminated water supply inside the campus.

As the hospital is now undergoing massive repair and reconstruction work, it is feared that the drinking water pipes have been damaged contaminating the water. “We have, however, collected water samples from all hostels and sent them for laboratory tests,” the principal said.

The principal said that a high-level meeting was convened on Tuesday to take stock of the situation.

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