Dhenkanal (Odisha) [India], January 13 : Two cases of jaundice have been reported at a s school in Odisha's Dhenkanal district, prompting local health authorities to step up precautionary measures.
Dhenkanal Chief District Medical and Public Health Officer (CDM & PHO) Sanjaya Mohapatra said there was no outbreak of jaundice at present and asserted that the situation remained under control.
"There is no outbreak of jaundice till now, and we are working to prevent it. The situation is under control. We had information about two cases of jaundice at the school," Mohapatra said.
He added that a joint team comprising officials from the health and education departments has visited the school to assess the situation.
"Today, I have come here with the District Education Officer, officials from the Rural Water Supply Scheme, the Food Safety Officer and microbiologists. We are collecting food and water samples from here to find out if there is any contamination of water or food," he said.
The development comes in the backdrop of a recent jaundice outbreak at the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) in Gurujanga village of Khordha district, where a rise in cases among students had raised concerns.
Following that incident, the state health machinery has been on alert, with increased surveillance and monitoring.
Officials said they are closely monitoring the situation at Bishwanathpur Adarsha School and have assured that necessary steps will be taken if any additional cases are reported.
Later on January 10, Director of Public Health, Odisha, Dr Nilkantha Mishra, added that no new cases have been reported yet in that area and that the situation will be acted upon accordingly if numbers increase.
It was further revealed that rising jaundice infections have been linked to contaminated water, health authorities said
On Friday, Director of Public Health Odisha, Dr Nilkantha Mishra, said, "The source is the water, orofecal contamination, which means the water was contaminated and entered the system. Anyone who drinks that water, or whose food is prepared with it, is therefore at risk. Steps are being taken to decontaminate the water so that it becomes clean and potable."