Monday, Feb 18, 2002
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NEW DELHI, FEB. 17. Even as investigations into the plague-like epidemic in a village near Shimla continued, accusing fingers are being pointed at the Himachal Pradesh Government for failing to take preventive measures despite repeated reminders. Concerned over the epidemic, the Prime Minister, A.B. Vajpayee, called the Union Home Minister, C.P. Thakur, to his residence this evening and apprised himself of the various measures taken to deal with the situation. Mr. Vajpayee also rang up the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, P.K. Dhumal, and enquired about the steps being taken by the State Government and offered all assistance from the Centre. According to public health experts, the affected area was well documented to be prone to plague and the State Government had for a long time even had a special surveillance system to prevent its outbreak. But, about a decade ago, the system was dismantled purportedly on account of paucity of funds and despite repeated reminders to restore the system, in the wake of the 1994 plague epidemic in Surat, the State has been turning a deaf ear. The State, they complained, was so indifferent that even for a meeting of the national coordination committee on plague, which was held recently in Bangalore, none came from Himachal Pradesh. The committee meets regularly to take stock of the situation in areas that were prone to plague. In the country as a whole, four areas are known to be focal points for the plague bacteria - one is in the region at the tri-junction of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the second in Latur-Beed belt in Maharashtra, from where the Surat plague is considered to have emanated, the third in Rhoru in Himachal Pradesh, where the present epidemic has taken place, and the fourth is a small pocket in Uttaranchal. Dr. Thakur said tests were continuing and the final results on whether it was a case of plague or not would be known by Tuesday evening or Wednesday. On the face of it, however, there appeared to be ``more than 50 per cent'' possibility that it was a plague epidemic. It is, he said, for instance, now known that the villager, who was infected first, had repeatedly visited the forest near his house on January 25 and 26. Forests are the natural habitat for the plague bacteria. There they existed in a symbiotic relation with wild rodents. All the infected were related to each other and possibly they had transmitted the disease to each other through saliva and other droplets. The infected also showed symptoms akin to that of plague. Asked about the possibility of it being a case of biological terrorism, considering that scientists from the Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior, were also involved in the probe, Dr. Thakur said there appeared to be no such linkage. The defence scientists are conducting their investigation on their own. No new cases The epidemic, he said, appeared to have been contained considering that there had been no new case since February 8. Of the 14 persons who are undergoing treatment, only one was still on oxygen, the rest were stable and recovering. Dr. Thakur has proposed to visit the affected area on February 19. Our Shimla Correspondent writes: No new cases of the plague-like disease have been reported from any part of Upper Shimla district today. Although the already-reported cases are being treated and medicines worth crores of rupees have been distributed to the people as a precaution, doctors do not wish to call it a plague. Talking to reporters, the Himachal Health Minister, J.P. Nadda, denied reports that some patients were fleeing hospitals fearing plague infection. The admissions are going on as usual. Only a few patients have been discharged to set up isolation wards. The educational institutions in Jubbal tehsil had been closed up to February 20 as a precaution.
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