Dengue situation alarming in Odisha, 975 test positive

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Sept 8:

Concerned over the dengue menace that has spread to 22 districts, the Odisha government has decided to convene a high-level review meeting this afternoon.

Sources in the Health department said that the deadly virus so far has spread to 22 districts of which the situation in Jajpur, Keonjhar, Angul, Cuttack and Bhadrak has become grave.

Official sources have confirmed only two deaths so far.

Out of a sample blood test of 4057 patients, 975 patients have tested positive.

Sources in the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack said that a total of 130 patients have been admitted to the dengue ward.

Taking note of a large number of patients in Jajpur district (415), most of whom have been admitted to the Tata Steel hospital at Kalinga Nagar, the Health department has rushed a special team of doctors to the area to review the situation.

Sanitation work has been stepped up in the area while 20 health teams of the district, led by the chief district medical officer (CDMO), have been constantly monitoring the situation in the 15-km radius of Kalinganagar, a senior health official told the media.

Briefing the media here, Health and Family Welfare minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said special dengue wards have been opened in three government medical college and hospitals and the district headquarters hospitals in the affected districts.

While admitting that there is a rise in the number of patients, the minister said the number of dengue casualties in the state is minimal,

“The department has directed the concerned hospital authorities to make adequate arrangement for separate blood components for the patients”, Nayak said.