Drawing attention to the importance of iodine as a micronutrient for ensuring better health, Director Public Health Dr Sapneswar Gadanaik said iodine is an essential micronutrient for normal human growth and mental development.
“It is required by our bodies every day in very minute quantities (100 – 150 micrograms), most of which we get from our diet.
When there is a deficiency of nutritional iodine in the food, it can lead to Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD). IDD is a worldwide major public health problem and results in physical and mental retardation, cretinism, abortions, stillbirth, deaf mutism, squint and various types of goitre.
It can affect everyone irrespective of gender and socioeconomic status,” he told.
The State Department of Public Health, in collaboration with Unicef, organized a press conference to generate awareness regarding IDD on Monday here.
Participants included Director Public Health,Dr Gadanaik, Director- Health Services Dr Haraprasad Pattnaik, Director, State Institute of Health and Family Welfare Dr Binayak Prasad Prusty, Additional Director (PH) Dr Shakti Prasad Padhi and Deputy Director, IDSP and State Programme Officer I/C, IDD, Dr A Pradhan.
It was revealed that in Odisha, 17 districts out of 30 are found to be endemic such as Angul, Bargarh, Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kandhamal, Keonjhar, Khordha, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabrangpur, Nuapada, Puri, Rayagada, Sambalpur and Sundargarh.
According to the NHFS-IV (2015-16), the households using iodized salt is 93 per cent in Odisha as compared to 76.1 per cent as per NHFS- III (2005-2006).
