Almost a month after the outbreak of gastroenteritis in some villages of backward Kalahandi district, claiming 38 lives so far, the Orissa government on Monday sent a team of doctors to the affected villages. The state government at the same time rejected that the outbreak had assumed epidemic proportions. The Naveen Patnaik government's intervention came on a day when a team of experts from the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) visited the district to take stock of the situation. The three-member team was led by Uma Chawla, joint director of NICD. The outbreak was first reported early this month. The most affected areas are Bhawanipatna, Biswanathpur and Thuamul Rampur blocks.