Public Health Director Niranjan Mishra on Tuesday said out of 68,610 samples tested so far, 5,097 have tested positive for dengue. Of the total cases, maximum 2,133 have been reported from Khurda district, followed by 555 from Puri, 520 from Cuttack and 473 from Balasore, he added.

Stating that dengue cases are unlikely to come down so long as the rains continue, Mishra said theperiod from July to October is considered as the pick period of the vector-borne disease which is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito.

Considering this, he said prevention is the only solution to check its spread. He advised the people to keep their houses and surrounding areas clean and hygienic.

Stating that there was no reason to panic, Mishra said, “As many as 98% of dengue patients get cured by timely treatment. One should not be worried by the drop in platelet count of the patient due to the disease. Even if the platelet count drops to 20,000, the patient can recover by right treatment in consultation with doctors.”

According to sources, these urban CHCs will have 10 beds each for dengue patients.

“We have made provisions for dengue sample collection and treatment at the four centres under Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation limits. The patients can be treated at home and shifted to hospital in case of any complication,” Public Health Director Niranjan Mishra said.

He further informed that blood banks have been directed to keep adequate stock in view of the rising cases. “On an average more than 60 fresh cases of dengue are being detected in Odisha daily for about a month now,” he said.

The testing figure has crossed 38,500 compared to 18,700 across Odisha last year.

Mishra said that the number of dengue cases have risen since the state intensified surveillance and testing. Besides, special arrangements have been made at the Capital Hospital here for dengue test. A special testing centre will start operating at the hospital from Thursday.

“There is no need to panic as the complication rate is less than five per cent,” he added.

The state has so far reported 2,426 dengue cases, and 1,164 of those diagnosed with the vector-borne disease are from Bhubaneswar alone. Odisha is also among six high dengue-burden states that have been fuelling the case tally this season, according to data released by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

However, the government has been refuting dengue deaths despite five suspected fatality in Bhubaneswar since July 22. “We have received information about five deaths so far and the cause of death in none of them was found to be dengue,” Mishra told the media.

The assessment of the health impacts of the non-sugar sweetener aspartame were released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). 

Citing “limited evidence” for carcinogenicity in humans, IARC classified aspartame as possibly carcinogenic to humans and JECFA reaffirmed the acceptable daily intake of 40 mg per kg body weight.

“Cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally. Every year, 1 in 6 people die from cancer. Science is continuously expanding to assess the possible initiating or facilitating factors of cancer, in the hope of reducing these numbers and the human toll,” said Dr Francesco Branca, Director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, WHO. 

“The assessments of aspartame have indicated that, while safety is not a major concern at the doses which are commonly used, potential effects have been described that need to be investigated by more and better studies,” Branca added.

Aspartame is an artificial (chemical) sweetener widely used in various food and beverage products since the 1980s, including diet drinks, chewing gum, gelatin, ice cream, dairy products such as yogurt, breakfast cereal, toothpaste and medications such as cough drops and chewable vitamins.

The two bodies conducted independent but complementary reviews to assess the potential carcinogenic hazard and other health risks associated with aspartame consumption.

IARC classified aspartame as possibly carcinogenic to humans on the basis of limited evidence for cancer in humans (specifically, for hepatocellular carcinoma, which is a type of liver cancer). 

There was also limited evidence for cancer in experimental animals and limited evidence related to the possible mechanisms for causing cancer, the WHO said in a statement.

JECFA concluded that the data evaluated indicated no sufficient reason to change the previously established acceptable daily intake (ADI) of 0–40 mg per kg body weight for aspartame. 

The committee, therefore, reaffirmed that it is safe for a person to consume within this limit per day. 

“For example, with a can of diet soft drink containing 200 or 300 mg of aspartame, an adult weighing 70kg would need to consume more than 9–14 cans per day to exceed the acceptable daily intake, assuming no other intake from other food sources,” according to the WHO.

“The findings of limited evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and animals, and of limited mechanistic evidence on how carcinogenicity may occur, underscore the need for more research to refine our understanding on whether consumption of aspartame poses a carcinogenic hazard,” said Dr Mary Schubauer-Berigan of the IARC Monographs programme.

IARC and WHO will continue to monitor new evidence and encourage independent research groups to develop further studies on the potential association between aspartame exposure and consumer health effects. 

While the stinking smell of some of the decomposing waste material in the dumping yard is unbearable for the local residents, and the smoke emitting out of the dumping yard whenever there is a fire, causes an inconvenience to residents. Many locals are also facing health hazards due to the pollution arising out of the dumping yard and regularly falling ill. Though they have requested the district administration several times to shift the dumping yard to somewhere else, it has fallen on deaf ears.

“This is a tourist spot and the area is situated in the middle of the city. Several families including the families of the servitors are living near the area. Several hotels are also situated near the dumping yard. However, it is not understandable how a dumping yard could be there at the center of a town,” said Indrajit Mohapatra, a local resident.

“The pollution, stinking smell, and smoke arising out of the dumping yard are unbearable. Local people are facing severe health hazards because of the dumping yard. We have been listening for many years that it will be shifted, but nothing is happening,” said Rama Mallick another local resident.

Concerned over the unhygienic situation at Baliapanda, a local lawyer named Chinmay Dash had filed a petition before the National Green Tribunal to shift the dumping yard to somewhere else, but nothing has materialized yet.

“Whenever I return from the sea beach, I feel the toxic atmosphere at Baliapanda area due to the dumping yard. Being a lawyer I was really concerned about the ordeal of the people living in the nearby areas. I filed a petition at the National Green Tribunal requesting remedial measures. However, nothing has happened yet,” said Dash.

Meanwhile, Puri Municipality officials assured that the waste materials will be shifted soon after being processed.

“An MOU will be signed with an agency soon for processing and shifting of the waste material from the area. A preliminary survey is being conducted for assessing the amount of waste material piled in the area. Work in this direction will be undertaken at the earliest,” said Manoj Behera, Additional Executive Officer of Puri Municipality.