Malkangiri: With the Japanese Encephalitis death toll mounting to 48 in Malkangiri district with the death of three children this morning, the Odisha government said it will start vaccination in four districts from December.
Briefing media persons after presiding over a review meeting at the district headquarters here this evening, Health secretary Arti Ahuja said in the first phase, the vaccination programme will start in Malkangiri, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanjj and Jajpur districts from December.
Talking about the situation in Malkangiri district, she said the disease has spread to 79 villages in the district.
Claiming that the treatment of the afflicted children is underway at the district headquarters hospital in the presence of specialist doctors and pediatricians, she said till date 80 children have been cured and discharged from the hospital.
“The rate of death has proportionately come down which indicates that the situation in the district is bring gradually stabilised,” she added.
The Health secretary also said that the chances of survival of the afflicted children would be more if they are brought to the hospital in a stabilised condition.
“Before bring ailing children to the hospital, if ORS and glucose are given to them if they are dehydrated and paracetamol syrup if they have fever, chances of their survival would be more,” she pointed out.
Earlier in the day, the Health secretary visited Koraput district to review the situation and held talks with senior officials.
She interacted with officials of all the departments concerned and discussed the required preventive measures to ensure that the disease did not spread to the district.
It was decided to put temporary check posts along the areas bordering Malkangiri to restrict the entry of pigs into human habitats, while officials were asked to undertake awareness drives.