Central team visits Odisha’s jaundice-hit Sambalpur town

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Sambalpur, Dec 26:

A three-member Central health arrived in the western Odisha town of Sambalpur today to help the state administration in ascertain the cause of the outbreak of jaundice and ways to arrest its spread.’

The team comprising Dr P Verma, Dr Vidya Arankalle and Dr Manju will submit its report to the state government tomorrow.

They met Collector Balwant Singh, Deputy Director of Health department Bikash Patnaik and the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Dr. Jagatkrushna Samantray during the visit and discussed the situation arising out of the outbreak of jaundicein the town.

Identifying contamination of water as the main reason behind the spread of the disease, team member Dr Vidya saidthe team would collect water samples for analysis.

“We will submit a report to the state government on the outbreak of the disease. We will also study past cases of hepatitis-A and hepatitis-E in Sambalpur,” said Dr Vidya.

The team emphasized the use of safe drinking water, personal hygiene and curbing open defecation.

Dr Vidya said: “Since there is no anti-viral treatment available against the disease, precaution is most important.  The disease breeds in places which are polluted.”

“The measures being undertaken to combat the jaundice here, are satisfactory. However, it will take time for the improvement in the jaundice situation here as the incubation period of the disease is very long,” she said.

The team also stressed the early implementation of the announcements, which have been made by state the government to improve the sanitary condition and provide safe drinking water to the citizenry.