Sambalpur: As many as 22 children aged under 15 years have been diagnosed with Hepatitis A in Saliabagicha and Kumbharpada slums here on Wednesday. The 22 cases were detected from 30 samples collected for testing.
Chief district medical and public health officer (Sambalpur), Sujata Rani Mishra, said some children have already received treatment, while others are on medication.“We have placed these cases under surveillance and informed the state govt. Officials have been instructed to test water and street food samples. Many patients have been cured. These are old cases as jaundice has a long incubation period,” said Mishra.
Health officials suspect the outbreak may be linked to the recent Sital Sasthi festival, when locals, including children, consumed street food. An official said that door-to-door sample collection is being done to identify additional cases. Local Asha workers are conducting door-to-door surveys. These two slums are said to have poor drainage, sources said.
They said medical teams have visited affected slums, collected blood samples and tested street food, like ice candy, suspected to be sources of the infection.
“Unhygienic conditions in ice-candy factories could also be a contributing factor,” a health official said. Sources said all patients are stable.

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