Rayagada: In the wake of three deaths due to diarrhoea in Kalyansinghpur block of Rayagada district few days ago, a three member team of Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Bhubaneswar on Thursday visited the affected areas of the district and took stock of situation.
They had a discussion with inhabitants of Dantalinga village of the region and collected stool samples from diarrhoea affected persons in the block. The team members spoke to the family members and relatives of the deceased.
“The cases are not new in the area. It had happened in Kashipur region in 2007. Kalyansinghpur and Mohana were the most affected areas when the epidemic had spread in 2010. The root cause of spread of the disease is unavailability of potable water,” RMRC team leader BB Palo said. ”Non-maintenance of hygienic condition by families is also an issue there as it spreads fast from human contact,” he stated.
Meanwhile the State government has opened a temporary medical camp there to check the spread of the disease.
“The health camp started from 21st July. So far 490 patients have registered with us. When we come across serious patients we are sending them to community health centres,” Dr Purnachandra Jampua said.
In the last 10 days, three diarrhoea deaths have been reported in Pidua village of the block.
Despite the claims of district health department of taking precautionary measures to contain the disease, diarrhoea has spread to the villages of Polama, Kalyansingpur, Dhamanpanga, Singari and Budaguda of the block.