2 die, 4 critical due to food poisoning in Odisha's Balasore

BALASORE: Two persons of a family have died and four others are battling for life reportedly due to food poisoning at Dadhibamanpur village in Balasore’s Simulia block in the last three days. The deceased were identified as Laxmi Das (62) and her grandson Pradip Kumar Das (23). The condition of Pradip’s father Judhisthir Das, mother Bhagabati Das, cousin Manoj Das and his mother Umamani Das is stated to be critical.

Sources said the Das family consumed leftover food from lunch the night on Sunday. The next day family members complained of nausea and diarrhoea. They were first admitted to Simulia hospital and later shifted to Bhadrak district headquarters hospital (DHH) as their condition deteriorated.

Laxmi reportedly died during treatment at the DHH on Tuesday. As the condition of other family members worsened, the doctors referred them to Cuttack. They were rushed to Cuttack in ambulances and admitted to a private hospital where Pradip succumbed on Wednesday night.

On being informed, a health team reached Dadhibamanpur village on Monday and collected the food sample for testing. In-charge medical officer of Simulia primary health centre Dr Santosh Kumar Sahoo said it is suspected that consumption of stale food may have caused diarrhoea in the affected persons.
Besides, it is possible that some poisonous insects may have come in contact with the food leading to poisoning. The exact cause can be ascertained after the test reports are out, he added.