Bhubaneswar: The 'vibrio cholerae' bacteria was detected in water sources of Southern Rayagada district where at least 34 people have died of diarrhoea in last two months, official sources said on Thursday. Of the 16 water samples examined at the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) here, six tested positive to vibrio cholerae, said D N Nayak, the team leader of state health human resource management. While four cases were confirmed in Kashipur block of Rayagada district, two tested positive to the killer bacteria at Kalyansinghpur, Nayak said, adding that additional medical teams were rushed to affected areas to control the situation created after detection of cholera in Rayagada. At least 137 people died during last six months while 34 persons died in Rayagada district alone in last 60 days, an official in the health department said. Meanwhile, the state government placed two doctors under suspension for dereliction in duty. The two doctors from neighbouring Balangir district were suspended on Thursday as they did not turn up to attend patients in Rayagada district, health minister Prasanna Acharya told reporters here. The director of national rural health mission (NRHM) was camping at Rayagada to oversee situation and ensure that the disease was contained soon, the minister said. The disease was assuming epidemic form with more and more people getting infected to diarrhoea in Rayagada (34), Nuapada (27) and Nabarangpur (10) districts, the sources said. The tribal peoples' reluctance in seeking medical help was another reason behind the high number of deaths from the disease, health department joint director Bikas Patnaik said. Spread of diarrhoea in Rayagada and other tribal areas was mostly due to intake of polluted water, Patnaik, who is supervising health service in the area, said.