Bhubaneswar, June 15 (IANS) Odisha Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Mukesh Mahaling, visited the state’s Jajpur district on Sunday to assess the situation in cholera-affected areas and review ongoing containment and treatment efforts.

The Health Minister held detailed discussions with a Central team from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, various teams from the state government, and officials of the district administration in Jajpur.

The discussions focused on prevention strategies, treatment measures, availability of adequate medical personnel, and other key actions to tackle the outbreak.

While speaking to the media, Mahaling urged people to consult doctors at nearby hospitals instead of relying on quacks, and to get medicines from local pharmacies without consulting the doctors.

“Today, I visited more than five Community Health Centres and the District Headquarters Hospital in Jajpur to assess the situation. Following the outbreak, central teams from the Ministry of Health, the Directorate of Public Health, Odisha Food Safety, and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) reviewed the current status and the causes responsible for the outbreak. We are focusing on three key areas: disinfection of water sources, breaking the chain of infection, and close monitoring of the situation to check further spread,” said Mahaling.

He added that district nodal officers, responsible for managing diarrhea and cholera cases, have prepared profiles of the affected individuals, and will administer doxycycline to their family members and recent contacts to prevent the further spread of cholera.

The Minister further stated that the government is taking all necessary steps to prevent the spread of cholera to other areas of the state.

He noted that several diarrhea cases have also been reported in Kendrapara and Keonjhar districts. Mahaling is scheduled to visit the affected areas in Keonjhar district to assess the situation on the ground.

He told reporters that the central team has collected water and food samples from the affected regions to determine the actual causes of the outbreak.

The Health Minister said that around 12 people are believed to have died, but officially, only five deaths have been confirmed so far.

The remaining cases are still under investigation.

According to official sources, samples from 11 patients have so far tested positive for cholera infection.

The officials also confirmed that 1,516 diarrhea patients have so far been admitted to different hospitals in Jajpur district till June 15.

Out of them, 1,306 have been cured and 210 are still undergoing treatment at different hospitals in Jajpur. Notably, the union health ministry has sent seven-member medical team and three-member food safety team to Odisha.

Similarly, a four-member team of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also come to Odisha to tackle the situation.

–IANS

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