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  • Mystery fever rages through Sanguem- Chikungunya

    Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/N...ow/4801118.cms

    Mystery fever rages through Sanguem
    Govind Kamat Maad, TNN 21 July 2009, 05:05am IST

    MARGAO: High fever accompanied by severe rashes and acute joint pains is raging through some remote and rural areas of Sanguem.

    Sources say people started developing these symptoms about a month back. Villagers of Cavrem, some 4 km from Colomb, and surrounding areas are the worst hit. ?Many from the village are down with fever and quite a few have difficulty walking,? Milagres Dias, a villager, said.

    Medical practitioner Avdhut Prabhudesai of Colomb told TOI on Monday that he had treated at least 70-75 patients with these symptoms during the last four weeks.

    Though there is a primary health centre at Colomb, the directorate of health services is not aware of the large number of cases.

    ?I am unaware of any such cases. The local health centre may have taken some steps, it will have to be investigated,? health director Rajnanda Dessai told TOI when contacted.

    State epidemiologist Rajendra Tamba, after being informed of the outbreak by TOI, contacted the health centre, which informed him that the cases have already been tested and found negative for malaria. They will now be tested for chikungunya.

    Dr Tamba too was in the dark till this newspaper contacted him. ?We are yet to be notified by any medical practitioner from the area. I will inquire with the local health centre immediately,? he had told TOI earlier in the day.

    ?On an average, I have been getting four to five patients daily for the last three to four weeks. Most had complained of excruciating pain in the joints. The pain had forced some to stay in bed for almost a week,? said Dr Prabhudesai, the lone private medical practitioner in the 20 sq km area comprising Colomb, Kevona, Donolem, Cazur, Pirla, Kurpem, Kavrem, Jaki, Nunem, Managal and Devrem areas in Sanguem taluka.

    ?Identify virus strain?

    MARGAO: A mystery fever has been raging through remote rural areas of Sanguem taluka for the last one month. Most patients are responding fairly well to the ?symptomatic treatment? provided by Dr Avdhut Prabhudesai, the lone private practitioner in the area. However, the lack of laboratory facilities in the village has rendered the task of identifying the disease difficult.

    Though there has been no mortality, there has been substantial increase in morbidity and that remains a cause of concern, Dr Prabhudesai said.

    Prabhudesai says the DHS should take immediate steps to identify the virus strain. He is however, yet to notify the development to the DHS. ?The sub-centre of the DHS is close to my clinic, anyway. They should have been aware of the spurt in such cases,? he said.

    Associate professor at the department of preventive and social medicine of Goa Medical College, Dr Jagdish Kakodkar when contacted, said that only a serological survey could ascertain the disease.

    ?The symptoms appear to be similar to that of chikungunya, followed by dengue.
    However, the suspected outbreak of the disease has first to be reported to the nearest health centre by the medical practitioner treating such cases. The health centre will then inform the IDSP (Integrated Disease Surveillance Project) of the DHS which in turn will verify if there is any outbreak (of the epidemic) and then conduct a serological survey,? Kakodkar said.

    Prabhudesai puts his patients on a course of analgesics and advises adequate rest and wholesome nutrition. ?This has worked well so far, as the symptoms disappear within a week. I had to refer just one case to the Goa Medical College ? that of a three-month infant from Kurpem after his condition turned serious,? Prabhudesai said.

  • #2
    Re: Mystery fever rages through Sanguem

    Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/N...ow/4813447.cms


    3 mystery fever patients in hospital
    TNN 24 July 2009, 04:34am IST

    MARGAO: With the mystery fever that has been raging through the remote countryside of Sanguem showing no signs of let up, the director of health services on Thursday directed the primary health centre, Quepem, to conduct OPD consultations at the sub-health centre, Kevona (near Colomb) in the evenings everyday.

    The order came even as three patients from Colomb and surrounding areas, suspected to have contracted the fever, were admitted to the primary health centre at Cacora in Curchorem on Thursday.

    "All the three patients had complained of high fever, body rash and acute joint pains. They are suspected to have contracted chikungunya and their blood samples have been sent for laboratory tests," Dr Ganapati Kakodakar, health officer of the Cacora PHC told TOI.

    Incidentally, health director Dr Rajananda Desai's order to the Quepem PHC comes as a significant development, as in the absence of any proper medical facilities in the remote countryside, the sick are forced to travel all the way to Curchorem or Quepem to seek medical treatment. This entails travelling up to nearly 25-30 km in some cases where even the frequency of public transport system is scarce and largely irregular.

    Moreover, as the lone private medical practitioner from the area, Dr Avdhut Prabhudesai, is also down with fever and other similar symptoms of the mystery illness for the last two days, the patients are left with limited or no access to even basic medical care.

    "Though there is a sub health centre at Kevona and a rural medical dispensary at Rivona, the doctor is seldom to be found. This compels the patients from these rural areas to turn to quacks or traditional remedies and risk their health, as many villagers do not have the means or the wherewithal to travel large distances to get themselves treated in hospitals," Seby Antao, a resident of Colomb, said.

    Dr Prabhudesai told TOI, "It is imperative that the government set up health-aid posts in some affected villages after conducting a proper assessment, considering the susceptibility of the areas to the illness. Setting up of such posts in central areas of the belt from Colomb to Netravali, would do a world of good to the rural poor patients. It is the legitimate right of the people to have access to proper medical care and is the duty of the government to provide it."

    Meanwhile, the serological survey undertaken by the DHS in the affected areas to identify the viral pathogens continued on Thursday, with the staff from the primary health centres of Quepem, Cacora and Sanguem working in tandem. Chief medical officer (non-communicable diseases) Dr Ravindra Nadkarni and the deputy director, national vector borne diseases control program (NVBDCP), Dr Dipak Kabadi, closely monitored the exercise.

    "The surveillance teams have identified several potential (mosquito) breeding sites, including a large number of abandoned mining pits in the areas, and taken necessary steps to eliminate the threats. Besides, migrant labourers working at the mining sites are being screened as they could be possible carriers (of the virus)," Dr Kabadi told TOI on Thursday.

    The results of the confirmatory blood tests are expected to be known by Friday, sources said.

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    • #3
      Re: Mystery fever rages through Sanguem- Chikungunya

      Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/N...ow/4818343.cms

      Mystery fever raging in Sanguem is chikungunya
      TNN 25 July 2009, 05:20am IST

      MARGAO: The mystery fever raging in Sanguem has been confirmed as chikungunya, signalling an outbreak of the disease.


      Blood samples of afflicted patients examined by the microbiology department of the Goa Medical College (GMC) returned positive for chikungunya. However, no satisfactory explanation was forthcoming from the directorate of health services (DHS) about the samples which were negative.

      "The laboratory tests have confirmed an outbreak of chikungunya as 15 of 30 blood samples tested positive for the disease," Dr Dipak Kabadi, deputy director, national vector-borne diseases control program, told TOI on Friday.

      The outbreak of a "mystery fever" in parts of Sanguem had been first reported by TOI on Tuesday.

      Asked about the samples which tested negative, Dr Kabadi failed to give a convincing reply. "Some samples may have not tested positive owing to the varying degrees of the presence of antibodies in the patients, while others may have been suffering from ordinary viral flu. Nevertheless, the fact that as many as 15 out of 30 samples tested positive is enough to indicate a chikungunya outbreak," Dr Kabadi said.

      Explaining further Dr Kabadi said, "It's a self-limiting type of illness. The symptoms (high fever, swelling of and
      pain in joints and body rash) subside after patients are put on paracetamol coupled with hot water fomentation on affected body parts. People should take care to get rid of mosquito breeding sites in the area."

      Interestingly, the blood sample of private medical practitioner Dr Avdhut Prabhudesai, showing symptoms of flu, has turned negative for chikungunya.

      Meanwhile, three more patients suspected to be suffering from chikungunya were admitted at the Cacora primary health centre on Friday, taking the total number of patients being treated at the Cacora PHC to 6.

      The serological survey and the cleanliness drive undertaken by the directorate of health services (DHS) continued on Friday, sources informed.

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