Jaundice outbreak! 6 schoolchildren fall ill after drinking ‘contaminated tubewell water’

A suspected jaundice outbreak at a government-run school in Kendrapara district has raised serious health concerns. Following reports of six students falling ill, the administration has launched a health inspection and water quality check to control the situation and prevent further infections, sources said on Tuesday.

Also Read: Jaundice outbreak in Cuttack village; over a dozen children infected

The alarming health incident has been reported from Government Upgraded Upper Primary (UP) School at Gopalpur under Aul block of Kendrapara.

The issue came to light after concerned parents raised complaints about their children’s deteriorating health, which they suspected was due to contaminated drinking water from the school’s tubewell.

Following media reports and public concern, Kendrapara district administration has swung into action. Two teams from the Health Department arrived at the school and conducted health screenings of the students. Blood samples were collected from suspected cases for laboratory testing. Additionally, water samples from the school tubewell were taken for quality analysis.

In response to the outbreak, tubewells in both Gopalpur and neighbouring Patrapur village have been disinfected with bleaching agents as a precautionary measure. Health officials have confirmed that all tubewells in the affected areas will be tested and cleaned to ensure safe drinking water.

Preliminary findings suggest that the tubewell located within the school premises may have been the source of the infection. Authorities’ suspect contaminated water led to the spread of the disease among the students. While no severe cases have been reported yet, health officials are closely monitoring the situation.

Parents and local residents have demanded immediate steps to ensure clean drinking water in the school and surrounding areas to prevent recurrence.

“The tubewell has gone out of order since the last 7-8 years. We have written several times to the RWSS department, local BDO, and sarpanch in this regard, but to no avail. No one is taking any step to resolve the issue,” headmistress of the UP school, Basant Manjari Lenka, stated when contacted.

“As a result, yellow-coloured water is coming out of the tubewell and water-borne worms are often seen in it. The water has become completely unusable and is unsafe for drinking and cooking purposes,” headmistress Lenka expressed to OTV.