Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, May 21: Malnutrition with acute pneumonia is the reason for the deaths of six children in Bada Ansupa village in Ganjam district, a medical team visiting the area said.
Six children aged between two to six years have died in a span of a week, leading to panic among villagers in the remote hamlet.
The state promptly dispatched a team comprising health experts from Ganjam district headquarters hospital, Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati Medical College Hospital and World Health Organisation to investigate the cause of death. “The medical team went there and collected water, blood, urine and sputum samples. They have found malnutrition with acute pneumonia to be the reasons behind the deaths of the six children,” said Kailash Das, public health director.
Das also said they have found nearly 60 people affected by one disease or the other, while the medical team has also discovered most villagers to be afflicted by chicken pox, measles and boneitis among most villagers.
“After the six children died in such a short span, we sent a team to investigate the reason of the deaths. Now we have deputed our mobile team with ASHAs and ANMs to look after the villagers and take follow-up action,” Das said. The state in the past one year witnessed many mystery diseases occurring in far-off hamlets, especially in tribal belts. Many people have lost their lives in mysterious circumstances in Jajpur, Malkangiri, Sundargarh and Rayagada.