Berhampur: A day after a youth and his sister died of suspected poisoning in Ganjam district, their mother breathed her last today in Bhubaneswar.
As per sources, son and daughter of Banambar Pradhan, a resident of Rambha village, had died yesterday at MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur while his wife died at a private hospital in Bhubaneswar today.
Banambar claimed that his family members fell ill after they had dinner on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Chhatrapur, Ramesh Chandra Sethi and other police officials visited the house of Banambar and started an inquiry into the mysterious deaths of the trio.
"During post-mortem we found that it is a case of poisoning. But samples have been collected and handed over to police. It will be sent to State Forensic Science Laboratory, Bhubaneswar to ascertain the type of poison. The reason behind death will be known after arrival of the viscera report," said Kiran Kumar Patnaik, Associate Professor, Forensic Medicine, MKCG Medical College, Berhampur.
At Bhanjanagar in the district, Patnaik inaugurated a newly constructed police station. Besides, he laid foundation stones for a Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI), a Regional Transport Office (RTO) and bridge over Koklaba Nallah.
Later, he distributed various aids and assisting devices among the Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) at Bhima Bhoi Samarthya Sibir, a camp to enroll, enable and empower PWDs, in Hinjlikatu, his Assembly constituency.
"I am glad to be in Hinjli today for a number of development programmes and welfare schemes for the people," said Patnaik.
Similarly, the Chief Minister inaugurated the newly constructed super speciality block on premises of MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur. He also laid foundation stone for a railway over bridge in the city.
Security had been beefed up throughout the district ahead of Patnaik's visit.
"We have deployed 15 platoon of police force at the meeting place, as part of the security measures taken for the Chief Minister's visit. Three platoon police force has also been deployed to take control of traffic,” said Additional SP, Ganjam, Ajaya Pratap Swain.
Fifteen BJP activists were detained by police ahead of the Chief Minister's visit to MKCG Medical College for protesting with black flags in front of the college gate.
https://youtu.be/QG35ZCtBD1A
As reported in NPR (National Public Radio- an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization), Panigrahi had been heading a research on the subject for the last 20 years to find out the probiotic bacteria, common in kimchi, pickles and other fermented vegetables, that could be a life saving solution to this medical problem in newborns.
An alumnus of BJB College, Bhubaneswar and MKCG Medical College, Berhampur, Panigrahi is currently working as a pediatrician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health.
Sepsis, a top killer of newborns affects 600,000 babies worldwide every year.
Quoting the Odia doctor, the NPR reported, once a baby is affected, all of a sudden it stops being active - crying and breastfeeding. The growth of the sepsis germs is so fast, by the time the baby is brought to the hospital, he or she dies. "In hospitals in India, you see so many babies dying of sepsis, it breaks your heart," Panigrahi said.
"Methodically, we screened more than 280 strains in preliminary animal and human studies," Panigrahi adds.
In the end, the team of doctors found a strain of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from the diaper of a healthy Indian baby and decided to move forward with a large-scale study comprising thousands of babies in rural India. To their astonishment, the bacteria worked well beyond imagination, the report cited.
The finding further stated that babies who ate the microbes for a week — along with some sugars to feed the microbes — had a dramatic reduction in risk of death and sepsis. They dropped by 40 percent, from 9 percent to 5.4 percent.
But that's not all. The probiotic also warded off several other types of infections, including those in the lungs. Respiratory infections dropped by about 30 percent.
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The treatment worked so well that the safety board for trial stopped the study early. "We were planning to enroll 8,000 babies, but stopped at just over 4,000 infants," Panigrahi further stated to NPR.
Panigrahi estimates a course of the probiotic costs about $1 per baby. "It can be manufactured in a very simple setting which makes it cheaper," Panigrahi said.
Jogi has sustained bullet injuries on his left leg. He is admitted to the department of Orthopaedic Surgery in MKCG Medical College and Hospital here.
A bike, a Mauser and three live bullets have been seized from the possession of Jogi. He was wanted by Ganjam, Khurda and Commissionerate Police. More than 15 cases are pending against him at various police stations.
Jogi is a resident of Arjunapalli village in Kabisuryanagar block of the district. He was involved in various cases including dacoity, murder attempt and firing. On Wednesday night, acting on a tip off from Kabisuryanagar police, Polsara police was waiting for Jogi at Marda Square. On sight of police Jogi tried to escape from the place by open firing on them as a result police had to resort to return firing in which Jogi was shot on his left leg.
The deceased have been identified as Pradiip Pradhan and Sambharu Pradhan.
Reports said these two labourers had gone to the house of Dipak Pradhan, vice-chairperson of Digapahandi NAC to remove the wooden support from the roof of a newly constructed septic tank.
While working inside the base of the tank, both of them fell unconscious. They were rushed to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur where the doctors pronounced them as ‘brought dead’.
Following the incident, K Nuagan police rushed to the hospital and brought the bodies for post mortem.
Police is investigating into the case.
The protesting students demanded that the selection of candidates for admission in medical institutes should solely be based on merit. Moreover, with such reservations for special categories, the students of the general category will be deprived from higher education.
Earlier on Wednesday, the students of Burla Medical College voicing their concerns over the government decision, carried out a protest rally from the college premises and demanded that the government should make provisions for admissions solely on the basis of merit.
While only eight per cent of the seats were earlier reserved for the SC candidates in educational institutions, now they would avail 16.25 per cent of the seats in any college. Similarly, the ratio of reservation for ST students was enhanced to 22.5 per cent from 12 per cent.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik approved a proposal in this regard and the new decision would be implemented from the 2015-16 academic year. The government’s decision would be applicable for all the educational institutes run either by the government or private owners in the State.
The ST and SC students would get the facility in higher studies like medical and engineering colleges and universities, said Durga Prasad Behera, the additional secretary in higher education department.
Berhampur: Two cases of cholera has been detected in Kabisurya Nagar town of Odisha's Ganjam district.
A total of 11 stool samples were tested at the microbiology department of MKCG Medical College, said Additional District Medical Officer (Public Health) R Jagadees Patnaik today.
While one cholera case was detected from Kabisurya Nagar town, the other was from nearby Baliasara, he said adding officials had sent the test samples in view of the rampant spread of diarrhoea in nearby areas in the last fortnight.
The disease is believed to have surfaced due to the consumption of contaminated water and the number of diarrhoea patients had grown since April 25. While five patients were admitted in Kabisurya Nagar community health centre on Monday, one was admitted yesterday.
"There is no cause for panic due to detection of cholera. The situation is under control as we have taken several precautionary measures to arrest of spread of the disease," said Patnaik.
Medical officers in the community health center in Kabisurya Nagara have also been alerted and health workers were asked to spread awareness among the people to maintain personnel hygene and to consume the boiled water, he said.
Earlier, cholera was detected from Jagannath Prasad area where dirrrhoea had affected over 150 people in 36 nearby villages after they consumed pana (sweet water) during a festival.