Jaundice outbreak in Raipur; student, pregnant woman dead

Two persons, a pregnant woman and a student, have died of jaundice here in the past four days, prompting the departments concerned to take up initiatives to curb the spread of the water-borne disease.
The total number of jaundice-affected people in the capital city has reached around 400, according to Raipur Municipal Corporation (RMC)'s Health Department officials.
Most cases of the life-threatening disease have been reported from Deen Dayal Nagar. The other affected localities include Purani Basti, Baijnathpara, Nehru Nagar and Telibandha, RMC Commissioner Awanish Kumar Sharan told PTI.
"So far two people succumbed to this disease," he said today.

Rohit Gupta, a student of National Institute of Technology, died on Saturday.
The 22-year-old was a resident of Deen Dayal (DD) Nagar.

A pregnant woman, Babita Dewangan (30) of Lakhe Nagar, succumbed to jaundice while undergoing treatment in a private hospital here on Sunday.
Right now we are focusing on prevention, Saran said.
After the deaths, a sub-engineer, Pradeep Yadav, has been suspended for negligence, he said.
A doctor at a health camp in DD Nagar said as many as 138 people were today found affected by the disease in the locality. He did not rule out more deaths and said casualties had been reported in some private hospitals.

Meanwhile, RMC has started health camps in several areas to identify patients and put them under treatment.
Raipur Divisional Commissioner B L Tiwari and District Collector Thakur Ram Singh yesterday toured the jaundice- affected localities of the city and directed officials to disinfect drinking water being supplied in the residents.
They directed the officials concerned to conduct chlorine and microbiological testing of water and keep a watch on situation in DD Nagar.
Residents in affected areas have been advised not to consume water from wells. Arrangements have been made to supply drinking water through tankers.