Berhampur (Odisha): The Kandhamal district administration of Odisha has launched the health screening for all school students who stay in hostels run by the government, officials said on Saturday.

The drive was launched on Thursday and would continue till November 6 to screen around 33,000 borders of 389 hostels managed by the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe development and school and mass education departments.

Malaria, anaemia and sickle cell tests of the students from Class I to XII were being conducted by the health teams during the drive, official sources said

Bijay Kumar Panda, chief district medical officer (CDMO) said they have formed 24 RBSK (Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakrama) teams for this exercise. Two teams have been deployed in each block.

Each team will conduct the health check-up of at least 100 students per day, he said.

“The drive will help the authorities gather the knowledge of the prevalence and impact of malaria, anaemia and sickle cell disease among the hostel inmates,” district welfare officer Narayan Mishra said.

Students suffering from those diseases will also get an early treatment when their illnesses are known, he said.

Earlier, the medical teams had conducted different tests of suspected cases, after getting intimation from hostel superintendents.