The Hindu : A.P. clueless as viral fever rules the roost

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 19, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

A.P. clueless as viral fever rules the roost

By Dasu Kesava Rao

HYDERABAD July 18. Andhra Pradesh is now reeling under a variety of diseases and the rural areas are bearing the brunt.

Viral fever, the cause of which is yet to be identified, has broken out in epidemic form, taking a toll of infants and children in 10 of the 23 districts. The official death roll is 120 and Japanese encephalitis, gastro-enteritis, diarrhoea, dengue and cholera cases also continue to be reported.

Earlier this year, the State witnessed deaths due to starvation and sun- stroke, but the outbreak of the viral fever has taken the public health system and the crisis handling mechanism of the Government completely unawares.

The Government hospitals in Warangal, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Hyderabad and several others in the Telangana region are besieged by a perennial flow of cases from rural areas, where people live in abject fear of what they call "the mysterious killer". Over 60,000 boys and girls studying in social welfare institutions are affected by viral fever, JE, GE or other seasonal ailments, according to the Minister for Social Welfare, J.R. Pushparaj. The afflicted, mostly children between two and 10 years, are brought to hospital with high fever and fits. They go into coma and die in a day or two. Warangal tops the list (84 cases, 41 deaths), followed by Karimnagar (69 and 45), Nizamabad (16 and 10), Medak (4 and 4), Nalgonda (7 and 6) and Mahbubnagar ( 6 and 4). Cases of viral fever and other seasonal ailments have been reported from almost all over the State, though Telangana is the worst-hit.

The Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, known for quick responses, and the State administration seem to have been caught on the wrong foot. Encephalitis has ravaged the State before the Government could get its act together.

During a visit to Karimnagar, Mr. Naidu announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 50,000 to the bereaved families and the setting up of an experts' panel to study the causes of the epidemic. Even as Mr. Naidu expressed dissatisfaction at the laxity of the public health system, the Minister for Medical and Health, Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, a doctor himself, ordered the Director of Health to go on leave and suspended the district medical and health officer of Karimnagar.

The authorities are clueless about the cause and identity of the killer virus. Apart from the experts' panel, a number of teams from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) and other agencies are carrying out studies, but have yet to conclusively identify the cause of the disease. "Systemic failure' is blamed for the chaos. Though Andhra Pradesh has a sound healthcare infrastructure, it has no virology laboratory that is so crucial in a State where encephalitis and other viral diseases often break out, testifying to the poor public hygiene. Over 50 rounds of the "Clean and Green" campaign have done little to improve the situation.

Keeping these diseases under check will be a daunting task when the Godavari pushkarams are only 12 days away. No fewer than 30 million people are expected to take a holy dip in the river at important centres such as Rajahmundry, Kovvur, Bhadrachalam, Dharmapuri and Basar.

A five-day campaign covering health education, sanitation and cleanliness, personal hygiene and waging a `war on pigs and mosquitoes' in all villages and towns concluded on Friday.

(See Editorial in Opinion section)

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