Cuttack: Jaundice is spreading its fang fast and wide in the city. The number of affected persons, which was 116 till a day before, shot up to 120 today after the city registered four more fresh cases of the water-borne disease.
Though the authorities have geared up and launched emergency measures to check the spread of the disease, the locals have alleged that the steps are not sufficient to fight against the deadly disease as the drains in areas like Nayak Sahi, Thoria Sahi and Bania Sahi are yet to be cleaned.
According to sources, 500 water service connections in the city were identified to have broken pipelines and over 200 of those have already been replaced.
Meanwhile, free health camps have been opened in the affected areas where the urine and blood samples are tested freely and the affected persons are given free medicines.
Similarly, the ASHA and Anganwadi workers are moving door to door in Mangalabag and Jobra areas distributing free halogen tablets and asking the residents to boil water for 10 minutes or more before drinking. They are also distributing leaflets demonstrating the symptoms of the disease and its prevention.
As if that is not enough, swine flu has also triggered panic in the State as eight persons have tested positive for H1N1 influenza. “We have tested blood samples of 48 persons, out of which eight tested positive. Till now, two deaths due to the influenza have been reported,” said Kailas Das, director of Health department, here today.