Andhra Pradesh - Anantapur   

Collector, MP visit fever-hit village

Staff Reporter

Experts from Pune collect blood samples, results yet to come

ANANTAPUR: District Collector Y.V. Anuradha has stated that the mysterious viral fever, which has gripped several villages in the district, is yet to be identified. The district administration has been extending all possible medical aid to the sufferers, she claimed.

Along with Anantapur MP A. Venkatarami Reddy and District Medical and Health Officer V. Swarupkumar Reddy the Collector visited Narasanayunikunta, one of the affected villages on Tuesday. They enquired about the health condition of several patients and assured them of further medical aid.

Of no avail

The Collector stated that they were conducting health camps in the village with 400 families since January 6, but it was of no use as the number of patients afflicted with the viral fever was increasing continuously. A majority of the families were affected with the unknown disease and it had contracted either all members of the families or a few of them, she said.

A team of experts from the Indian Institute of Virology, Pune, had visited several affected villages in the district on February 4 and 5 and taken blood samples collected from the patients in the affected villages. But, the results of the tests on blood samples were yet to come, she said.

Symptoms

Explaining the symptoms of the unknown disease K. Ramanjaneyulu and a few other patients said that fever would suffer them for the first three days and later turns into severe body pains starting with swelling in the feet and joint pains. Medicines had no impact on the pains and there was no relief, they stated.

The Collector ordered the DM&HO to supply milk, bread and buttermilk to all the patients everyday till they were cured, after learning that most of the families could not afford them. One family of five had already spent Rs. 7,000 on cure of the disease by visiting private doctors in Anantapur but to no avail.

Strangely, the DM&HO has put the number of cases reported during the last 45 days in 14 villages at only 362.

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