A team of medical experts on Monday visited the Kalahandi district of Orissa to take stock of the situation after an outbreak of diarrhoea killed 24 people there and hit thousands over the past one month.
"A three member team led by Uma Chawla, joint director of National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), reached the region on Monday. They are visiting the affected areas," joint director of state health department Bikash Patnaik told IANS.
The outbreak was first reported early this month from a hamlet in Kalahandi, about 450 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, and it later spread to dozens of nearby villages.
Patnaik said doctors have treated hundreds of people in hospitals and temporary camps set up at various places during the past 30 days. He said unhygienic living conditions and contaminated drinking water led to diarrhoea in the district.
"The situation is under control now. There is no report of death or outbreak from the region since Aug 21," he said.
Bhakta Charan Das, who is representing the region in the Lok Sabha, alleged that diarrhoea has claimed at least 38 people. "At least 38 people have died. There are no adequate doctors in the region to tackle the crisis which has taken an epidemic form," Das told IANS.
{{/usCountry}}Bhakta Charan Das, who is representing the region in the Lok Sabha, alleged that diarrhoea has claimed at least 38 people. "At least 38 people have died. There are no adequate doctors in the region to tackle the crisis which has taken an epidemic form," Das told IANS.
{{/usCountry}}However, the state health department maintained that diarrhoea has claimed 24 lives.