There is panic among the people at Angul as two persons have died and three others are affected in swine flu in the district.
The affected persons are undergoing treatment by a special team of doctors.
Angul , a pollution hotspot of the country, is reeling under continuous health threat due to poor health management. This has led to outbreak of various contagious and vector borne diseases.
The most common way for a human to catch swine flu is through contact with a pig. The pigs are moving regularly at the several waste dumps at the roadside and near water bodies of Angul urban area, as there is no dumping yard of the municipality to dispose of waste.
The administration in general and the local self bodies in particular have miserably failed to improve the sanitation of various urban areas and industrial areas including Angul municipal area. An NGT order for waste disposal in Angul municipality has been violated by both the administration and municipality authorities.
As per the order of the NGT, the administration has failed to provide a suitable land for huge waste disposal of Angul civic body. Severe pollution along with failure of health administration have led to collapse of health service in Angul.
Many are astonished about the outbreak of swine flu at Angul in summer season. But Dr Anil K Prasad, former professor of virology at Patel Chest Institute and chairman of the Influenza Foundation of India told, " With growing population, rapid urbanisation and mass transport, viruses travel across hemispheres within a few hours. Infection is no longer seasonal and people are at risk 365 days a year". Dr Prasad even recommend annual flu vaccination for people at risk all through the year.
Similarly, around 70 people have died of dengue in Angul in last 10 years. It has exposed the failure of the health administration. Angul has no medical college. The Jana Jivan Surakshya Committee and the Citizens Action Forum are continuously demanding establishment of a medical college at Angul, given the enormity of the situation.