Berhampur, July 24: As many as 107 posts of doctor, including those of 42 contractual medico, are lying vacant in Ganjam district against the sanctioned strength of 269.

"The district has 22 community health centres (CHC), 89 new primary health centres (PHC), two sub-divisional hospitals, one area headquarters hospital and one district headquarters hospital. We have to manage the health services at all these places with the available number of doctors," said Ganjam chief district medical officer Dr Mrutyunjaya Mishra.

He said doctors were also reluctant to join duty. Recently, the state government issues advertisements to fill up the posts of 24 doctors, but four responded to this. As a result, the ayurveda, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homeopathy (Ayush) doctors have to take care of the PHCs and the CHCs.

He said that while at least one doctor was needed to run a PHC, three to four medicos were required for a CHC. Some posts of specialists in the area of medicine, paediatrics and others have also been sanctioned in the CHCs. "In such a situation, how can we put required number of doctors in all the health centres?" asked Mishra.

As it is Odisha has 1,162 PHCs, 351 CHCs, 324 area hospitals, 30 district headquarters hospitals, 26 sub-divisional hospitals and two apex hospitals, one each in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. Staff crunch in almost all these health care facilities has been taking a toll on the service, he said.

In another development, three persons, identified as Gayatri Nayak, 40, Bijaya Nayak, 45, and Prabhakar Nayak, 40, died and six fell sick after being struck by an unidentified disease at Talapatna village under Dharakote block, in the past two days. The villagers suspect it to be a case of witchcraft and pointed fingers at four persons. The deceased had developed stomach pain, vomiting sensation and headache apart from mild fever.

Mishra said the administration had sent a medical team to the village while another team would go there tomorrow. "Five of the ill patients have been referred to MKCG Hospital. We have collected blood samples of the affected people. The future course of treatment depends on the diagnosis of the disease," Mishra said.