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Imran Khan in Bhubaneswar
For the first time the Orissa government has admitted that cases of cholera have been reported from the flood-hit areas of Kendrapara, Jajpur and Jagatsinghpur.
Speaking to rediff.com, Devi Mishra, minister of state of health, said, "We have collected blood samples of several victims and found that there are cases of cholera."
The state government has sent an SOS to the Centre for medicines and doctors.
Meanwhile, the number of cases of diarrhoea has grown to 15,646 while 26 deaths have been reported so far. The number of suspected cases of malaria is 5,746.
"Nearly 132 teams have been despatched to all the flood-hit areas. And if the situation demands, we will take help from international organisations," Mishra said.
Mishra, though a junior minister, is in charge of relief operations because the senior minister, Dr Kamla Das, was sacked by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik last week.
The government has also sent two cartons of serum for snake bites as there have been some 90 reported cases of bites and six deaths so far. "More cartons are on the way from Gujarat and West Bengal," Mishra said.
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