The police arrested four quacks engaged in the treatment of piles at Manjeri and Nilambur following a raid by the district medical authorities on Thursday.
The raid was conducted in the wake of secret complaints by some patients who contracted Hepatitis-B after undergoing treatment by the quacks in unhygienic conditions. District officer in charge of prevention of communicable diseases Shibulal, who led the raids conducted at several parts of the district, said the quacks who claimed to be professional surgeons did not even have the basic qualifications. “Most of them did not even pass Class 10,” he said.
All of them were Bengalis engaged in crude surgery of piles for several years.
“They were found using concoctions made of wax, vanaspati, and some other chemicals. Using a syringe, they were injecting the mixture into the rectum. We were aghast to find that they used the same syringe on different patients, making it easy for them to contract Hepatitis-B. Even HIV can easily be transmitted this way,” said Dr. Shibulal.
Unrecognised clinics have been functioning at several parts of the district, offering treatment for ‘secret diseases’ such as piles and fistula. Many people were approaching these clinics in a secretive manner.
While a handful of them got cure, many were suffering from various other side-effects.
