Health team visits village at heart of ‘food poisoning’ deaths

Rourkela: A high-level health team led by Ashok Paikray, additional director of the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP), on Monday visited Nuadihi village in Hemgir block of Sundargarh district, where two persons died in a suspected case of food poisoning.

Two others died in nearby villages in Jharsuguda district.The team, which included Sundargarh district collector Subhankar Mohapatra, CDMO Suresh Chandra Mohanty and other district health officials, took stock of the situation.Food safety officials collected samples of cooking oil, grocery items and fish from the house where a post-funeral feast was organised, as well as from a local store. The samples were sent to the State Food Testing Laboratory for analysis.

Two patients being treated at home were shifted to Hemgir CHC on Monday.Sources said residents of Nuadihi and nearby Jharsuguda villages had attended a post-funeral feast on Thursday. From Friday, several of them complained of vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach pain. In all, 54 people across the two districts were affected, including 47 in Nuadihi.Health teams reached the village on Saturday and admitted 28 patients to Hemgir CHC, of whom six were later shifted to Sundargarh district headquarters hospital (DHH) after their condition worsened.

Officials said most patients are now stable. Twelve are undergoing treatment at Hemgir CHC and five at Sundargarh DHH, while three of the four patients admitted to Jharsuguda DHH have been discharged.During the visit, officials interacted with villagers and advised them not to use pond water amid allegations of contamination.The collector directed departments, including food safety officials, to expedite action and submit reports.

He announced that village ponds would be renovated using CSR and DMF funds.Health teams disinfected wells on Sunday and collected water and rectal swab samples for bacteriological testing. A separate team from Jharsuguda IDSP also visited the affected villages there and carried out field assessment and awareness activities.