District development officer Anju Sharma and chief medical officer Dr V T Javli term the two talukas as disease-prone and say that though the previous years have shown positive results - in the wake of proper preventive measures - they would prefer to zero in on both the talukas to be on the safer side during summer and monsoon, excellent seasons for the infections to spread.

On last Friday, seven children hailing from villages Amda and Goriad were found out to be suffering from the said diseases and suspected to be cholera patients. Though the on-going Jivan Raksha Yatra under which the medicos had gone to the villages gave them the first medical support they were sent to S S G Hospital, at least 15 others of the same villages were also treated there and later discharged, it was officially informed.

Dr Javli informed that the two talukas would be kept under strict vigil to prevent two most likely diseases cholera or related diseases and malaria. According to him, there had been 48 cases of cholera in Padra and two deaths in 1994. Though there was no death reported in the later years, at least 13 cases of diarrohea and vomiting were reported in 1995, 83 in 1996, 22 in 1997 and 99 last year, hence need to be extra careful, he said. According to him, in Chhotaudepur taluka too, there had been over 2,000 cases of gastroenteritis in 1994, 136 in 1995, 290 in 1996, 51 in 1997 and 251 last year.

About malaria, he said Chhotaudepur was the most-prone taluka in the district. He said there had been more than 2,000 cases in the entire taluka for four consequent years since 1992 though the number later came down to 1,000 in 1996. ``Though, it again shot up to 2,800 in 1997, it was controlled last year when only 731 cases were reported,'' he said and highlighted the need to work on this front as well during the ensuing monsoon season.