Bhubaneswar, May 9: A woman from Sudhapara today died of chronic jaundice at Balangir district headquarters hospital, taking the jaundice death toll in Balangir to three.

She had been admitted to the hospital a few days ago. Yesterday, a 21-year-old youth from the same area died at VSS Medical College and Hospital in Burla after being shifted there in a critical condition from Balangir.

Around 50 jaundice patients have reportedly been admitted to district headquarters hospital, while 25 children affected with the disease have been admitted to hospitals in the neighbouring Boudh district.

Health department officials, however, denied there was any jaundice epidemic in Balangir. An official said the three persons, who succumbed to the disease, had been suffering from chronic jaundice and admitted to hospital for the past several days.

"According to the chief district medical officer's reports, the deaths that have taken place are not due to any epidemic. These patients had been admitted to the hospital long ago, and they were chronic sufferers. At present, the situation is under control as our teams have been visiting the affected areas and collecting water and other samples for testing," said director of public health Kailash C. Das.

Around 25 children in Boudh district are also suffering from jaundice and undergoing treatment. A public health official said teams from the district headquarters as well as from Bhubaneswar have visited the areas to examine the situation.

"As the children are under the age of 10, we think it must be hepatitis-A. We have sent our teams and its members are collecting water, urine and faecal samples for testing. Besides, a team from Bhubaneswar has also gone there to take stock of the situation," said Das.

The people of the affected areas are being constantly told to use safe water and not to drink water from the unhygienic sources. Besides, the district administrations are taking steps to provide safe drinking water in both the districts to curb the spread of the disease.