Gastroenteritis has claimed lives of three infants in the inaccessible Chitrakonda area of Malkangiri district over the last three days.
Over 50 other children have also been affected by the disease, said official sources.
The three infants who died were aged between five months and two years and belonged to the remote Rekhapalli and Kandhaguda villages under the Chitrakonda police limits.
Thirteen children hit by the disease are undergoing treatment at the Community Health Centre at Chitrakonda, according to the attending doctors. Their condition is serious, the doctors said.
The doctors said consumption of contaminated water drawn from local streams in the absence of potable water facilities is the cause of the outbreak of the disease.