Belated though, the district administration here has admitted that jaundice is fast spreading in city as over 60 cases have already been detected from various parts. Taking stock of the situation at a high-level meeting here on Monday, district collector Nirmal Mishra informed that 63 cases of jaundice have been reported from the Jobra and Mangalabag areas of the city. While the administration refused to admit any casualty of the disease so far in this season, one person has reportedly died of the disease in Municipality Colony of Jobra last week. Similarly, fresh cases of jaundice have been reported from Tala Sahi and Majhi Sahi of Jobra and other localities in Mangalabag.
Meanwhile, activists from voluntary organisations and staff of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) on Monday distributed leaflets about the disease and Halogen tablets to the localities, asking them to drink boiled water to prevent the spread of the disease. While the CMC staffs are engaged in sanitising the afflicted areas, the public health department staffs are busy in replacing the broken drinking water pipes with new ones.
On the other hand, the SCB medical college and hospital and other government hospitals of the city have been asked to remain alert to meet any eventuality arising out of jaundice. Due to choking of drains on account of the ongoing reconstruction of drainage and sewerage work under the JICA project, the city’s poor sanitation has given rise to spread of jaundice and mosquito menace, allege the residents of the two localities.