Bhubaneswar: More than 40 students have fallen ill following a jaundice outbreak at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) in Odisha’s Khurda district, officials said on Monday.

Public Health Director Nilakantha Mishra said the outbreak began when one student was diagnosed with jaundice after returning to the residential school in Gurujang from Christmas vacation. "Later, several other students tested positive," he added.

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"District Health Department personnel visited the school on Sunday, while a state-level team arrived today. We are closely monitoring the situation and taking necessary steps," Mishra said.

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Water Corporation of Odisha (WATCO) General Manager Rajendranath Nayak said samples had been collected from the school and sent for testing. "The water supplied by WATCO might not be contaminated. We suspect that the disease spread due to some outside food items," he added.

The development comes amid a health crisis in Indore, where an outbreak of diarrhoea linked to contaminated drinking water has affected hundreds.

As many as 142 people are currently hospitalised, including 11 in ICUs, while 20 new patients were detected during screening of over 9,000 residents in Bhagirathpura, the area worst hit by the infection. Health teams have examined 9,416 individuals from 2,354 households, identifying 20 fresh cases, officials said on Sunday.

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According to officials, 398 patients have been admitted to hospitals since the outbreak began, with 256 discharged after recovery. "142 patients are currently undergoing treatment in hospitals, including 11 admitted to ICUs. The outbreak is under control now," they added.

Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Madhav Prasad Haasani said a team from the Kolkata-based National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections (NIRBI) has arrived in Indore to investigate the crisis. "Experts from NIRBI are providing technical support to the health department to contain the outbreak," he said.

So far, six deaths have been confirmed, though Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava had earlier put the toll at 10, and local residents claimed higher numbers.