The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : They are used to illnesses, but this time it’s different

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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

They are used to illnesses, but this time it’s different

Afshan Yasmeen

Fever and cholera are quite common in Ramachandrapuram

Bangalore: The filth, squalor and the stench emanating from the nearby open drain in the bylanes of Ramchandrapuram tell it all. Residents of areas surrounding the drain have always lived under the fear of catching vector-borne infection.

Most of these residents frequently get fever, cholera, and other ailments. They may not know the names of the ailments, but they are used to such infections. This time around several of them fell prey to chikungunya, a relatively rare form of viral infection. So far, 300 suspected cases have been reported from Srirampuram, Ramchandrapuram, Sevashram, Okalipuram, Bashyamnagar, Nagappa Block and surrounding areas.

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) Srirampuram Referral Hospital and K.C. General Hospital are flooded with patients having symptoms of chikungunya. The Government-run Public Health Institute has confirmed the outbreak and at least seven of the 22 random blood samples have tested positive for the viral disease.

“Yava jwara bandru tadkoltidvi. E sathi yenu hosa tharada jwara bandide. Kaal navu sikkapatte ide, nadiyakke agudalla (We could tolerate any kind of fever. But this time we have severe joint pain. We are unable to walk),” Sundramma, who stays in a small hut in front of the open drain, said even as she was scrubbing a heap of vessels under a public tap. She is one of the confirmed cases but she does not the luxury of rest.

Her family is laid up with the infection. Following frequent visits to the BBMP hospital, she now knows that she should not store water in open containers as chikungunya is caused by fresh water mosquitoes.

With hardly any cases being reported at the government hospitals, the viral infection has been noticed only in these areas. Although doctors said that the infection had not reached alarming proportions, there is a sense of fear and panic among people.

Panic in districts

The disease, caused by an alpha virus that is spread by bites from the aedes aegypti mosquito, has taken epidemic proportions in Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Mysore, Belgaum and Shimoga.

The name is derived from the word “makonde” meaning “that which bends up” in reference to the stooped posture developed as a result of the arthritic symptoms of the disease.

“There is a possibility of the virus having being brought by people who would have returned from these districts,” Health Commissioner P.N. Srinivasachary told The Hindu.

The State Health Department has offered all assistance and guidance to the BBMP in controlling the disease in the city, he said.

Major trouble

In 2006, 7.5 lakh people were suspected to have been infected by chikungunya across the State out of which 305 were confirmed cases.

People from 152 taluks in all the 27 districts of the State were affected, with Gulbarga, Bidar, Raichur, Davangere, Chitradurga, Bangalore Urban and Bangalore Rural being the worst hit.

According to the State Joint Director (Malaria and Filaria) Vasudeva Rao, the number of suspected cases came down to 1,700 in 2007 of which only 144 tested positive for the disease.

This year, 21,805 suspected cases have been reported in the State. Of these, 159 are confirmed cases, including those in Bangalore, Dr. Rao added.

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