After unknown disease claims kids' lives at CCpur...
Viral Hepatitis, Jaundice rear ugly heads
Source: The Sangai Express

Senvon (CCpur), April 25: Even as the people in the villages under Tipaimukh sub-division of Churachandpur district have been grappling with the outbreak of a yet to be identified disease which has claimed the lives of 30 children so far, fresh report on outbreak of Viral Hepatitis and Jaundice among the children in Senvon and Leisen villages have come in.

It is said that over 30 children have been affected by viral Viral Hepatitis and Jaundice in the two villages of the sub-division which has already been reeling under the impact of Mautam and its subsequent food shortage.

With lack of any proper health care facilities, even a common ailment is a serious health problem for the people of the sub-division, which has been remaining like an island cut off by an insensitive Government.

An ailing child being taken on the bed to the health camp

Apart from the deplorable condition of the road connecting the sub-division with National Highway 150 and Guite Road, there is no other means of transportation with exception to truck service.

Most of the houses in the sub-divisions do not maintain separate kitchens and every households use fire woods for their cooking purposes, thus the houses remain enveloped in toxic smoke most of the time.

It was also seen that most of the villagers irrespective of young and old, men and women are in the habit of smoking cigarettes, that too with the tobaccos rolled in papers of newspapers even as most of the womenfolk use Khaini.

The water required for daily consumption is fetched from untreated water sources maintained in each village.

During the course of a health camp conducted by a team of medical doctors from RIMS at various parts of the sub-divisions including Parbung, Senvon, Damdei and Pherzawl from April 21 to 24, in the wake of reports of death of many children with symptoms of breathlessness, vomiting, fever, lethargy and loss of consciousness, it was detected that most of the children are suffering from malnutrition and the pregnant mothers from the complication of not having vaccinated for tetanus in time.

The medical team comprising Dr Kenny and Dr Romeo of Medicines, Dr Shyamsunder and Dr Kambiyak Dik of Paediatrics, Dr Rameshwar of Gynae, Dr Sudhir Ranjan of ENT and Dr Mope Riba of Microbiology came across children coming to the health camp suffering from similar symptoms.

The medical team collected blood and stool samples as well as throat swaps for testing.

Medical examination of 557 patients in Senvon, 779 in Parbung, 342 in Perzawl and 10 in Damdei have been conducted during the health camp.

According to one of the doctors, symptoms of breathlessness, vomiting, loss of consciousness, lethargy, etc is also common among the children at Imphal.

However, the lives of the children can be saved easily as proper health care facilities are available at Imphal.

On the other hand, mortality rate among the children of the sub-divisions has been high due to various factors like unhygienic living condition, lack of general awareness on health care, absence of health care facilities coupled with backwardness in road and transport facilities.

Nonetheless, the doctor assured that the cause of the death of the children in the sub-divisions could be known after necessary testing.

Interacting with The Sangai Express, MO in-charge of the Primary Health Centre at Senvon Dr Firthanglien Buhril opined that emission of toxic gas and smoke from the fire woods burnt in the houses may have been one of the main reasons for the infection and the subsequent death of many children in the sub-divisions over the last few months.

The death of the children at Leisen village, located about 280 kms from Churachandpur has been diagnosed as cases of liver enlargement and jaundice and that of the causes of death at Senvon as brongco pneumonia, Dr Buhril said, while recalling that the children have suffered after consuming pork meat of the pigs that have died in Leisen from some unknown diseases during December and January last year.

It is said that in Leisen village, over 30 children are currently being hospitalised from viral hepatitis infection and they are medically taken care of.

When pressed for more information in connection with the death of children, it came to that no samples have been collected nor test ever conducted to find out the causes of the death of the children.

Only clinical observation have been conducted.

The two children who reportedly died at Senvon and Robakot were still born.

As of now, there is no building for the Primary Health Centre at Senvon.

The construction work has been stopped after the foundation level.

The hospital which used to function from the residence of the chowkidar has also been shifted to the rented hall of the village authority.

When inquired on why BCG and DPT which are essential have not been vaccinated on children upto to the age of 5 years, Dr Buhril revealed that as there is no electricity, there is no facilities for cold storage of the vaccines.

During the course of investigation, it also came to light that there is no sign of any would-be mothers going to the hospital for delivery cases in the sub-divisions in spite of the claim that necessary measures have been taken under the National Rural Health Mission to ensure that all the delivery cases are reported at the hospital.

None of the people in the sub-divisions have also been benefited van of the mobile dispensaries that have been launched by the Government recently.

It was also learnt that the villagers are not in a position to purchase the medicines prescribed by the doctors due to financial constraints and deplorable condition of the road and communication facilities.

For instance, to purchase a medicine costing just Rs 100, one has to come till Churachandpur district headquarters spending over Rs 1600 at the minimum on travelling fare and expenditure for lodging and fooding.

There has been no telephone connectivity under the Government of Manipur in most of the villages of the sub-divisions.

Instead, the villages are dotted with WLL PCO procured from Mizoram.

With no opportunities to watch the program mes telecast by the Doordharshan Kendra, Imphal, the villagers have no idea about the developmental programmes including health care scheme being taken up by the Govt.With long years of dependence on Solar lamps to light up their houses at night in the absence of electricity, the villagers, inspite of the reservation against the proposal of constructing the Tipaimukh dam, hoped that commissioning of the project might bring along some developmental light in their lives, Victung Hmar of Senvon village summed up the dilemma of the people living in the sub-divisions.

Meanwhile, according to report received by the press, a joint team of doctors comprising three from National Insitute of Communicable Diseases, New Delhi and two each from Imphal and Churachandpur have set out for Tipaimukh to probe into the matter related to death of children.