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Malaria epidemic sweeps across Assam

Malaria and viral fever have claimed 60 lives and affected more than 200,000 people in Assam.

Meanwhile, the state government, cancelled the leave of all doctors and para-medical staff to deal with the emergency situation.

Assam Health Minister Kamala Kalita confirmed the death of 52 persons but the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, in a petition to the state human rights commission, put the death toll at 394.

However, unofficial reports said more than 450 people have died. But Dr Kalita confirmed that about 170,0000 people had been affected by malaria and viral fever in the state.

The worst affected district is Nalbari where the civil hospital had been flooded with malaria patients. According to the district official, more than 50 per cent of the people being treated in government and private hospitals were suffering from malaria. The other affected districts are Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Jorhat, Golaghat, Nagaon, Nalbari, Sonitpur, Sibsagar, Darrang, Karbi Anglong and north Cachar Hills for the last two months.

The Congress, in its petition, blamed the Assam government for not taking adequate preventive measures to stop the annual outbreak of the disease. Congress spokesman Ripon Bora, in the petition, held Dr Kamala Kalita personally responsible for human rights violation and the state human rights commission has issued a show-cause notice to the Assam government.

The petition alleged that the medicines essential for the treatment of the disease, namely, IB dextrose five per cent, quinine sulphate tablets, quinine hydrochrobide injections were not being despatched to the malaria-affected areas. The medicines were not available with the health department. The state dispensaries and the primary health centres have also run out of stock of these medicines. As a result the affected people have to purchase these medicines from the market at an exorbitant rate.

Normally DDT should be sprayed from February and March, but surprisingly this year the spraying of DDT has not been done so far in many districts of the state, alleged the petition.

This was, however, denied by Dr Kalita. He said a survey conducted by the department on 1.10 lakh people throughout the state had detected 1079 positive cases of malaria. The state government has prepared an action plan in this regard in February which was approved by the Centre in March, he added.

Giving a detailed account of the measures initiated by the government, Dr Kalita said the entire state has been divided into four zones, comprising three districts in each zone. Each of the zone is being headed by an additional director of the health department. He added that the team would monitor the anti-malaria programme besides suggesting measures to the government.

The health minister iterated that the government was prepared to tackle the situation and had sufficient stocks of DDT and anti- malaria drugs which were already being despatched to the affected areas. He, however, admitted that there was a shortage of IV fluids.

UNI

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