Over 1,000 people have been infected in a suspected cholera outbreak since December 11 in Rourkela in Odisha. The State government put the death toll at six. Most cases have been treated at the Government Hospital in the city.
In a letter, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urgently sought the intervention of Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. The letter came a day after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik instructed officials to assess the situation and bring the outbreak under control.
Officials said all deaths due to suspected diarrhoeal infections were being audited to ascertain the cause. Studies pointed out the presence of cholera bacterium in stools of patients.
“I am writing to seek your personal intervention regarding the urgent need for central assistance to Rourkela and nearby affected area in Odisha to control and address the recent outbreak of diarrhoea,” Mr. Pradhan said. “The severity of outbreak of diarrhoea in Rourkela and the potential risk it poses to public health is alarming. At least eight deaths reported and over 600 individuals currently undergoing treatment. The disease is suspected to be caused by water contamination, leading to severe health complications among the affected populace.”
Six places in Rourkela have been identified as hotspots for diarrhoea infection. “We have received patients from different places of Rourkela. We are now carrying out epidemiology and microbiology studies. The community medicine department of the Sundargarh Medical College has already started working,” State Health Secretary Shalini Pandit said.
“Additionally, expert teams from SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack and the Regional Medical Research Centre, Bhubaneswar have been assigned to conduct further studies to determine the root cause of the outbreak and devise strategies to address the situation,” she said.
There has been a drop in patient inflow and the situation is under control, she said.
It is suspected that the infection spread through a rupture in water supply pipes, which the Housing and Urban Development Department is looking into.
