The State Government on Sunday appointed senior bureaucrat Nruparaj Sahu as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to monitor and oversee the measures to check the spread of Japanese Encephalitis, which has claimed 54 lives in Malkangiri district in last 37 days.
Sahu, who is currently working as Panhayati Raj Department Deputy Secretary, has been asked to oversee the welfare works aimed at checking the JE virus.
The administrator would be camping in Malkangiri for two months for effective coordination between departments in order to bring the menace under control, sources said.
However, no fresh death was reported due to the JE in the district on Sunday. But many parents, instead of bringing their children to hospital, are reportedly seeking the help of local traditional healers, called Disaris, or quacks to cure the kids, who are afflicted with the disease or are having fever after being discharged from hospital.
Around 40 children are now undergoing treatment at the Malkangiri DHH.
Sources said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik would review the situation at the State Secretariat on Monday to take a final call on the option of culling of infected pigs.