Following Cyclone Titli, Fear of Epidemic Looms in Odisha Districts

Berhampur (Odisha): Fear of an epidemic outbreak is looming large in Ganjam district following Cyclone Titli and the subsequent flood even as a senior health official said no such outbreak has been reported from any of the affected areas of the district.

Though the flood water has started receding, heaps of debris are lying in several areas, including worst-hit Aska, Purushottampur and Sorada, posing a serious health hazard.

"There are chances of getting infected by water and vector-borne diseases like typhoid, cholera, diarrhoea, hepatitis A and E in the affected areas," health experts said.

As stagnant water is the source of breeding of mosquitoes and other insects, chance of outbreak of diseases like malaria, dengue and skin allergy is high in the affected area, said Secretary of Berhampur branch of Indian Medical Association (IMA), Kiran Kumar Panigrahy.

Fever, abdominal pains, vomiting, diarrhoea, dehydration and fatigue are some of the early symptoms for both water-borne and vector-borne diseases, he said.

Spread of such diseases can be controlled by maintaining hygienic condition in the affected villages, he added.

Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) of Ganjam, Sadananda Mishra said outbreak of any epidemic has not been reported from any place of the affected areas of the district so far.

Health workers in different areas are creating awareness among the people about the need to maintain hygiene in their surroundings and hand wash before taking foods. They also advised the people to drink boiled water, the CDMO said.

All the medical facilities in the district are now functioning after normalcy is limping back in the district, he added.

"We have sufficient quantities of medicines. The medicines have already been dispatched to the community health centers (CHC) in the flood affected areas, said additional medical officer (public health), Himansubala Patnaik.

She said only one diarrhoea case was reported from Gochha area in Sorada block after the Cyclone Titli.

MLA (Gopalpur) and former minister, Pradip Panigrahy said the volunteers of Biju Yuba Bahini have been working voluntarily to clear the debris in the affected villages.

Around 200 volunteers were working at Aska, the most affected town in the floods, he said.

"We think it will be cleaned in the next two to three days in the entire district," he said.

Besides the personnel of fire services were also working to clean the debris, he said adding the tube-wells are being repaired on a war-footing.