Steps being taken to check diarrhoea in Kalahandi: Orissa CM

With diarrhoea claiming 26 lives in Orissa’s Kalahandi district, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said several measures were being taken in the affected areas to prevent further spread of the disease.

With diarrhoea claiming 26 lives in Orissa’s Kalahandi district, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday said several measures were being taken in the affected areas to prevent further spread of the disease.

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The Chief Minister, who, however, refused to describe diarrhoea as an epidemic at two blocks of Kalahandi district, said he had rushed the state health minister to the affected areas to oversee the preventive operations.

“I have asked Health Minister Prasanna Acharya to rush to Kalahandi,” the chief minister said after a meeting with him and department secretary Angu Garg.

The government has taken steps to disinfect all water sources, including springs, health minister said. 200 doctors, health workers were working to control the situation.

A medical team headed by the director of health service has reached the affected villages and another team of expert doctors were at hand if the situation worsened, Acharya said.

Health workers and volunteers were asked to ensure that all residents took medicines and drank safe drinking water to avoid the water borne disease.

As many as 26 people have died of the disease in five gram panchayats in the district in past two months, while 237 patients were admitted to government hospitals.