Odisha Ramps Up Fight Against Monsoon Diseases as Cholera Cases Detected in Jajpur

Bhubaneswar: Odisha government has intensified its public health efforts to prevent and control the spread of waterborne and vector-borne diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, jaundice, malaria, and dengue.

At a high-level review meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, IAS, officials from the Health and Family Welfare Department, Water Supply Department, and local administrations discussed the current health scenario and laid out a comprehensive strategy to tackle the seasonal surge in infections.

Public Health Director Dr. Nilakant Mishra confirmed that out of 41 stool samples tested from Jajpur district, 8 have returned positive for cholera. However, he noted that the outbreak remains under control due to extensive awareness campaigns, prompt medical response, and effective surveillance.

To ensure rapid containment, the Chief Secretary directed that all sanitation work across the state be completed within the next 10 days. He stressed the importance of house-to-house surveys for early detection, increasing the availability of hospital beds, and ensuring an uninterrupted supply of essential medicines, including oral rehydration salts and intravenous fluids.

A special emphasis has been placed on empowering grassroots health workers. Field personnel including ASHA workers, multipurpose health workers, anganwadi staff, and community health volunteers are being mobilized to strengthen disease prevention initiatives at the village and ward levels. These workers will play a key role in both surveillance and awareness generation in their respective areas.

In a bid to ensure clean drinking water, engineers from the Water Supply Department have been tasked with regularly purifying tube wells and water sources in both rural and urban pockets. Additionally, the Health Department has been instructed to make mobile health units more efficient and to intensify the “Daman” program in areas prone to malaria and dengue.

District Collectors have been directed to establish 24×7 control rooms to coordinate disease surveillance, patient treatment, and public communication during the monsoon season.