11 dead due to unknown illness in Orissa village

At least 11 people died due to an unknown disease in the past 40 days in Mahadeijoda panchayat in Orissa’s Keonjhar district.

Reports said Parshuram Behera, a ward member of the panchayat, who was admitted to the district headquarters hospital here after suffering from fever for several days, died on Saturday night.

“Parshuram was suffering from the unknown disease for several days. He used to have fever repeatedly. He had even gone to Cuttack and had undergone treatment there. On Saturday evening, he suddenly fell ill while he was having food at home. We took him to the district headquarters hospital, but he died,” a relative said on Sunday.

“Before he was admitted, he was profusely bleeding from his mouth,” said the doctor, at the district headquarters hospital, who had treated Parshuram.

Locals are in a state of panic with the death of 11 people in 40 days, said to be due to the unknown disease.

They demanded the permanent stationing of a medical team in the village to ascertain the cause behind the deaths.

A medical team had, in the first week of August, visited the panchayat as news of the disease broke out, and had treated the afflicted but has failed to contain the disease.