Bhubaneswar: In response to the diarrhoea outbreak affecting several people in Jajpur district, Odisha health Minister Mukesh Mahaling is scheduled to visit the affected areas tomorrow to assess the situation firsthand.

Following his visit, a 14-member Central team will also carry out a detailed assessment. The team has been divided into three groups to efficiently cover the affected regions.

Acting on the directive of the Director General of Health Services, a seven-member health team and a three-member food safety team have been dispatched to Odisha. Additionally, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has sent a four-member team to evaluate food quality in the region.

Members of the Central health assessment team include: Dr. Nilam Somalkar (Regional Director); Dr. Shivani Lahiri (Professor, Indian Public Health Standards); Dr. Srujan Mohanty (Microbiologist, AIIMS Bhubaneswar); Dr. Bhagirathi Dwivedi (Paediatrician); Dr. Satyajit Subudhi (Centre for Disease Control); Dr. Premjit Ghose (Indian Medicine Research Centre); Dr. Gautam Choudhuri.

The food safety team includes: Dr. Gitanjali Sharma (National Food Research); Miss Nayana (Technical Officer); Dr. Shasikant Bhuyan (Deputy Director, FSSAI East Zone).

The FSSAI’s special team comprises: Sweety Behera (Director); Sonika Sharma (Assistant Director); Prasanna Singh (Assistant Director); Nandita Das (Central Food Safety Officer, North Zone).

These teams will visit the affected areas, assess the on-ground situation, and make recommendations to both the State and Central Governments for containment and prevention.

A round-the-clock control team—comprising health officials, a rapid response team, and a public health team—is already operational at the district headquarters.

Public Health Director Dr. Nilakantha Mishra informed, so far, 1,516 people have been admitted to various hospitals in the district. Of these, 1,306 have been discharged, while 210 patients are still undergoing treatment.