The Hindu : Oil contamination likely cause of mystery disease

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 22, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Oil contamination likely cause of mystery disease

By Our Staff Reporter

KHAMMAM SEPT. 21. The disease causing swelling of legs due to accumulation of fluids in tissue spaces is suspected to be even food-borne. It has already claimed the lives of half-a-dozen people in the tribal pockets.

All sections in the tribal areas inevitably collect their quota of edible oils, daal and other essential commodities from the weekly shandies. Contamination of oils or adulteration of other food items in such markets would affect people on a large scale.

An expert team from the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) arrived in Khammam today to study the diet habits of the tribals who had become susceptible to the disease. It will collect the samples of the essential commodities reaching the interior tribal pockets from the various sources. It would also collect samples from the adjoining villages in Chattisgarh State as well.

The team will take stock of the malnutrition problem which was quite evident on the faces of the people in the affected pockets. A majority of the children and women suffering from malnutrition, had become prone to the leg swelling disease which had symptoms similar to polyneuritis, besides other infections. The team led by the NIN Deputy Director, S. Babu, was deputed to the affected area as the District Collector, Arvind Kumar wrote to the Indian Council of Medical Research on the problem asking for expert help to `rule out the possibility based on food habits'.

Whether the outbreak had anything to do with the strange food habits of the tribal population in the district is to be determined by the team. The NIN team had a detailed discussion with the collector here before leaving for the tribal villages. The team was expected to give its findings within a week. The Collector, in an official release issued here, informed that about 8,500 children were examined in 46 hostels during the past five days as part of the effort to check the spread of the disease to the tribal schools.

In all 12 children ailing with health problems of different nature were identified and referred to the area hospital at Bhadrachalam for better treatment. Altogether 42 cases were under treatment at the area hospital. The situation was totally under control and there was no need for any kind of apprehension about the disease.

Sounding a note of caution to people against using medicine administered by the quacks, he said the patients could be referred to the nearest Primary Health Centre immediately. He explained that a team of five doctors from the homeo side were sent to the effected area by the Commissioner of Indian Homeo Medicine. The team visited Bhadrachalam and examined some of the cases. It ruled out the prevalence of any `unexplainable' kind of viral disease. The collector said that the administration had acted in a pro-active manner to contain the disease. In addition to the doctors of the eight Local Primary Health Centres, 14 additional teams - each headed by a doctor deputed from the PHCs of other areas and district hospital were sent to the affected villages.

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Oil contamination likely cause of mystery disease