Even as the death of children due to Japanese Encephalitis (JE) mounted to 33 on Wednesday in Malkangiri district, Health and Family Welfare Secretary Arti Ahuja said pigpens would be constructed near villages in Malkangiri district to isolate JE-infected pigs in order to curb the disease.
“Pigs are the host of Japanese Encephalitis and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), which get transmitted from pigs to mosquitoes and further from mosquitoes to human beings,” said Ahuja.
“The blood samples of 21 pigs were tested. Of it, 14 samples tested positive for JE which means around 66 per cent of the pigs are infected with the JE virus. We have decided to isolate the pigs by constructing enclosures 2.5-3 km away from villages as mosquitoes are capable of covering the same distance by flying,” said Ahuja.
The district administration would construct the enclosures under the MGNREGA.
She said multipronged strategies to control culex mosquitoes have been framed. Besides, bio larvicides are being sprayed on water bodies to kill mosquito larvae.
Meanwhile, a child, Swati Matam, of Sindhikela under Mathili block died late on Tuesday night, while Saraswati Kumbhar of Pitakata succumbed to the diseaseon Wednesday morning. Rasmita Gaud of Mundaguda village died in the afternoon while on her way to hospital.
Upset over the Government’s “inaction” to tackle the situation, and Congress leader and former Nabarangpur MP Pradeep Majhi staged a dharna in front of the Malkangiri district Collectorate with the dead bodies demanding compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the family of each deceased. He also demanded an equal amount of ex-gratia for the families of all the children who have lost their lives in the disease.
“The State Government has failed to reach the tribal children in the affected villages with the vaccine even after the disease has claimed several lives. The life of our tribals is cheap for the State Government,” remarked Majhi.
Meanwhile, the Malkangiri Collector cancelled Dussehra holidays of all Government officials in the district in view of the alarming situation and asked them to stay alert.