100 Diarrhoea monitoring units set up in Koraput district

(

), July 31: To contain waterborne diseases, which spread during monsoon around 100 Diarrhoea monitoring units (DMU) have been constituted in Koraput district to monitor the situation, an official said today.

Sufficient quantity of anti-diarrhoea drugs and ORS packets have also been supplied to DMUs, medical sub-centres and ANMs to treat patients, the sources said.

"Measures are being taken to ensure that the district is not hit by either diarrhoea or cholera," said Koraput district Collector Yamini Sarangi. Scores of people succumb to diarrhoea in the district during monsoon every year. The disease generally spreads in the end of July and August and chances of it turning into an epidemic is very high, sources said.

The collector said health awareness camps are being organised in rural areas and leaflets on precautionary measures to prevent the diseases distributed in the district. Local artists have been roped in for street plays to disseminate information about spread, prevention and treatment of the diseases, she said. Though water bodies have been purified, rural folk still have been cautioned against consuming polluted stream water and stale food, she added.

PTI