Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, April 7: Several cases of hepatitis have now been reported from a slum in Bhubaneswar located some 500 metres away from chief minister Naveen Patnaik's residence.

As many as 18 blood samples were found to be hepatitis positive at Jharana slum, while six cases were also reported from Damana village.

Alarmed at the outbreak of the deadly liver disease in Bhubaneswar after Cuttack, the public health department has swung into action by deploying mobile units consisting of doctors and health workers to collect blood samples from nearby areas and check symptoms of hepatitis among the people.

Health officials suspect that cattle sheds in the city might be the reason behind contamination of water at Jharana slum.

"The cattle are taking bath in open spaces in the slum, and the contaminated water is mixing with groundwater," said an official.

At Damana village, which is deprived of piped water supply and depends on a deep borewell, open defecation is being suspected to have caused the outbreak of the disease.

Bhubaneswar mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said the civic body was keeping a strict vigil on the situation. "Halogen tablets are being distributed in the two affected areas to purify the drinking water. Health officials have also been asked to collect blood and water samples to check the disease from spreading further," said Jena.

In a related development, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation has banned setting up of jala chhatras (water kiosks) by private institutions, particularly in the jaundice-affected pockets as a precautionary measure. City health officer P.K. Pradhan said that not a single water kiosk had been allowed so far at Jobra and Mehendipir, from where hepatitis cases had been reported in the past 20 days. The civic body has also decided to come up with a special advisory for various clubs and other private institutions that will set up water kiosks to provide drinking water at various locations in other parts of the city.

Official sources said voluntary organisations have been asked to use water from purifiers, and they would be provided with halogen tablets on daily basis through the anganwadi workers. As no licence or permission is required for setting up the water kiosks during summer, a special squad of the health wing will regularly inspect sanitation measures and water quality at those kiosks set up by private institutions and other voluntary groups.