Gastroenteritis: NICD,Orissa teams in Kalahandi

Almost a month after the outbreak of gastroenteritis in some villages of backward Kalahandi district,claiming 38 lives so far,the Orissa government on Monday sent a team of doctors to the affected villages. The state government at the same time rejected that the outbreak had assumed epidemic proportions.

The Naveen Patnaik government’s intervention came on a day when a team of experts from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) visited the district to take stock of the situation. The three-member team was led by Uma Chawla,joint director of NICD.

The outbreak was first reported early this month. The most affected areas are Bhawanipatna,Biswanathpur and Thuamul Rampur blocks.