A three-member Central health team on Friday visited Sambalpur to find out the cause of the outbreak of jaundice in the city having so far claimed at least 17 lives and taken an epidemic form.
So far 1,921 persons have been infected by jaundice in Sambalpur.The Central team included Dr P Verma, Dr Vidya Arankalle and Dr Manju. They met the District Collector Balwant Singh, Health department Deputy Director Bikash Patnaik and Chief District Medical Officer Jagatkrushna Samant Ray during the visit and discussed about the jaundice situation here.They also gathered information about the jaundice outbreak and visited the water treatment plant of the city.
“Contamination of water is the reason behind the disease. We will collect the water sample for test,” said team member, Dr Vidya, adding that they would submit a report on the outbreak of the disease to the State Government on Saturday. Moreover, she also said that they would study the past cases of the Hepatitis-A and Hepatitis-E in Sambalpur.The team stressed on safe drinking water and personal hygiene, besides steps to curb the open defecation.
“Precaution is important to combat the jaundice as there is no antiviral treatment for the disease. The outbreak of jaundice is seen at those places, which are polluted,” said Dr Vidya.“The measures being undertaken to combat the jaundice here, are satisfactory. However, it will take time for the improvement in the jaundice situation here as the incubation period of the disease very long,” she said.The team also stressed on the early implementation of the announcement, which have been made by the State Government to improve the sanitary condition and for safe drinking water.