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Leishmaniasis - India - "Kala azar" [black fever] cases mount in Bihar
http://www.ndtv.com/template/templat...egory=National
Supriya Sharma
Saturday, April 15, 2006 (Patna):
Medical experts are fearing an outbreak of kala azar in Bihar, where over 3400 cases of the disease have been reported during the first three months of the year.
The disease, also known as black fever, is spread by sandflies, and its mounting occurrence is a clear case of government neglect.
Kala azar can be easily controlled by the spraying of DDT, which has been used as a frontline defence against other diseases like malaria as well.
The Centre supplies DDT free of cost to some states including Bihar, which accounts for over 75 per cent of kala azar cases in the country.
But as NDTV had reported in December 2005, nearly 500 metric tonnes of DDT supplied to Bihar was never used for spraying, and Rs 6 crore went down the drain as the chemical expired.
Human loss
The losses in terms of human life due to the lack of disease prevention are difficult to measure.
Among the worst-hit is the Banto village which is inhabited by the landless Musahars. The village has reported over 30 cases, including two fatalities, this month.
Affected villagers are not just losing out on their daily wages as they are unable to work, but also spending huge amounts of money for treatment.
"We pay very high rates of interest on the money borrowed for treatment," said Shakuntala Devi, a local villager.
Rising numbers
The state had last faced a kala azar epidemic in 1991 when 2.5 lakh cases of the disease were reported. The graph dipped in 2000, but has been on the rise again after 2003. <TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=5 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE style="BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px double; BORDER-TOP: black 1px double; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px double; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px double" cellPadding=5><TBODY><TR><TD class=smalltext align=middle bgColor=#9c0000>Year</TD><TD class=smalltext align=middle bgColor=#9c0000>No of cases</TD></TR><TR><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>2002</B></TD><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>9,000</TD></TR><TR><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>2003</B></TD><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>13,960</TD></TR><TR><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>2004</B></TD><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>17,324</TD></TR><TR><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>2005</B></TD><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>21,177</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
While the numbers for this year are nowhere close to an epidemic yet, experts say there is reason to take notice as many cases escape the public health scanner.
"The actual number of cases is feared to five times more than what has been reported," said Dr Prabhat Sinha, an expert on the disease.
"Not enough DDT was sprayed this season. Wherever it was used, it was of low potency. Instead of controlling the vector, we have made it more resistant. The human pool of infected people has now increased," he added.
The situation is fast worsening, and the government will need to take urgent steps to halt the spread of the killer fever.
Supriya SharmaSaturday, April 15, 2006 (Patna):
Medical experts are fearing an outbreak of kala azar in Bihar, where over 3400 cases of the disease have been reported during the first three months of the year.
The disease, also known as black fever, is spread by sandflies, and its mounting occurrence is a clear case of government neglect.
Kala azar can be easily controlled by the spraying of DDT, which has been used as a frontline defence against other diseases like malaria as well.
The Centre supplies DDT free of cost to some states including Bihar, which accounts for over 75 per cent of kala azar cases in the country.
But as NDTV had reported in December 2005, nearly 500 metric tonnes of DDT supplied to Bihar was never used for spraying, and Rs 6 crore went down the drain as the chemical expired.
Human loss
The losses in terms of human life due to the lack of disease prevention are difficult to measure.
Among the worst-hit is the Banto village which is inhabited by the landless Musahars. The village has reported over 30 cases, including two fatalities, this month.
Affected villagers are not just losing out on their daily wages as they are unable to work, but also spending huge amounts of money for treatment.
"We pay very high rates of interest on the money borrowed for treatment," said Shakuntala Devi, a local villager.
Rising numbers
The state had last faced a kala azar epidemic in 1991 when 2.5 lakh cases of the disease were reported. The graph dipped in 2000, but has been on the rise again after 2003. <TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=5 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE style="BORDER-RIGHT: black 1px double; BORDER-TOP: black 1px double; BORDER-LEFT: black 1px double; BORDER-BOTTOM: black 1px double" cellPadding=5><TBODY><TR><TD class=smalltext align=middle bgColor=#9c0000>Year</TD><TD class=smalltext align=middle bgColor=#9c0000>No of cases</TD></TR><TR><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>2002</B></TD><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>9,000</TD></TR><TR><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>2003</B></TD><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>13,960</TD></TR><TR><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>2004</B></TD><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>17,324</TD></TR><TR><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>2005</B></TD><TD class=smalltext bgColor=#fffbff>21,177</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
While the numbers for this year are nowhere close to an epidemic yet, experts say there is reason to take notice as many cases escape the public health scanner.
"The actual number of cases is feared to five times more than what has been reported," said Dr Prabhat Sinha, an expert on the disease.
"Not enough DDT was sprayed this season. Wherever it was used, it was of low potency. Instead of controlling the vector, we have made it more resistant. The human pool of infected people has now increased," he added.
The situation is fast worsening, and the government will need to take urgent steps to halt the spread of the killer fever.
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