12 children in Odisha village afflicted by measles; toll 200

Berhampur: At least 12 children in Bahadapalli village of Odisha's Ganjam district are suffering from measles, taking the number of those affected by the disease in the village to 200 in the last two months, official sources said today.

"An expert medical team has been sent to the village," additional district medical officer (public health) L K Rath said.

The expert team would assess the situation and collect blood samples to analyse the cause of the outbreak, but no fresh case has been reported, Rath said.

"We have advised people to inform doctors about the disease as soon as anybody is affected," Rath said.

Health officials would also administer Vitamin A tablets to children of nearby areas, he added.

Earlier, the outbreak of measles was reported from Patrapur, Nuagolabandh near Gopalpur, Adapada, Karapada and Sardhapur near Hinjili and Jaleswarakhnadi and Dasirampalli under Purushottampur block.

A child died of the disease at Dasirampalli last month, sources said.