Orissa suspects chikengunya, sends blood samples for test

Bhubaneswar -- Orissa has sent blood samples of at least 24 people, suspected to be suffering from chikungunya, a viral fever caused by mosquitoes, to the National Institute of Virology in Pune.

"We have collected blood samples from 10 people in the coastal district of Cuttack in the last fortnight. We also collected blood samples from four people in Ganjam and 10 from Gajapati in the past two months," M.N. Debata, the state's joint director of health told IANS Tuesday.

We have not yet received any report, he said.

"Although we suspect them to be chikungunya, no dengue case has been reported from any part of the state so far," he said.

The state had two confirmed chikungunya case in February, this year.