Jaundice has reared its ugly face again killing a patient in Sambalpur town and affecting 20 students in different school hostels in Deogarh district.
The students, who are suffering from the water-borne disease, belong to the Dhoblipathar Panchayat High School and the UGUP School of Tileibani block.
According to information, 20 students of both the hostels suffered from fever all of a sudden. As they didn’t get well after treatment, doctors suspected typhoid and treated accordingly. But that also didn’t work. Hence, most of the guardians brought their children to the VSSIMSAR Burla for further treatment where they were found to be suffering from jaundice. “Hostel students apart, some day scholars are also suffering from jaundice,” Headmaster Dinabandhu Sahu said. Meanwhile, some panicked guardians have taken their children from the hostels.
Now, school authorities are making efforts to provide safe drinking water to children.
Tileibani PHC Medical Officer Dr Sachindra Dash said he has alread visited the hostels and advised teachers and inmates to use safe drinking water. “A team from our hospital is going to the houses of the affected students regularly and monitoring the treatment,” Dash added. It is further learnt that the district administration is also taking special care since the region has the bitter experience of jaundice menace in Sambalpur since 2014-15.
“I have sent doctors from Deogarh to the affected area today and asked the Tileibani BDO to keep watch on the situation,” Deogarh Collector Purnachandra Pathi said on Thursday. He said pipe water connections would be given to the affected area and the two hostels soon.