Koraput: Widespread panic has gripped locals after one more person succumbed to suspected food poisoning in Odapur village of Dasmantpur block in Odisha's Koraput district on Sunday, taking the death toll to five so far in barely a week. 

The deceased was identified as Khagapati Gouda. He succumbed during treatment at the government hospital in Koraput. Gouda was the fifth person to have died in a week in the village while four others succumbed earlier. 

All of them initially complained of symptoms like diarrhoea and vomiting. While the exact cause of the illness remains unidentified till now, it is suspected that the victims used contaminated water and food during a community feast organised a few days back.

As per media reports, around 10 villagers had fallen sick soonafter the feast. All of them had developed symptoms of food poisoning.

Following the outbreak, a team of health officials had visited the village to assess the situation and collect samples of water, food and other materials for testing. During the door-to-door survey, they had distributed ORS sachets apart from counselling the villagers to boil water before using it for drinking purposes and heat food properly prior to consumption. 

Official sources said block health officials have been directed to expedite testing of samples and ensure heightened cleanliness measures in the affected village to contain the infection spread.

Meanwhile, local MLA Pabitra Saunta visited Odapur and called out the Health department for not being proactive enough to tackle the health scare.