Fever deaths have returned to Tiruvallur district. This time, close to the city and possibly due to swine flu. Already, three persons have died and 14 are being treated in the government hospitals here.
The Health Department is in a fire-fighting mode again. At the health camp set up in Erikarai, Pudu Gummidipoondi in Tiruvallur district, B. Santhi is grieving. Her son B. Ramesh (28) is one of the three people from the Irula community in the village who had died over the last two days. Ramesh was married and had two children, said Santhi, who is disabled. “His wife died some months ago, and now the two children have no one but me,” she rued.
Since Friday, at least 17 of the 57 members of the Irula community have been hit by respiratory infections and fever. Sixteen families live in the village in small huts. Three residents, Ramesh, M. Sreenivasan (20) and Angalammal (54), all of whom were admitted to the Government Stanley Hospital have died in the past two days.
Fourteen other persons, including 10 children, have been admitted to Stanley and the Institute of Child Health, Egmore. State health officials, who were at the village on Tuesday, said that while they suspected viral pneumonia possibly from H1N1 (swine flu), the infection could also be bacterial and the admitted patients were being treated for both.
This is the second time in less than six months that the district has been hit by a number of fever-related deaths. In August, four children from adjoining villages of Adi Andhrawada and Kaverirajapuram died of infections, including dengue and leptospirosis. At least three other children died in the following weeks and dozens of residents were hospitalised.
The illnesses in Pudu Gummidipoondi were first spotted by a village health nurse who had gone on Friday to check on a woman who had a miscarriage. She found a few members of the community suffering from cough, cold and low-grade fever and took them to a nearby Primary Health Centre. Subsequently, the three were taken to Ponneri Government Hospital and then to Stanley.
A health camp over the next two days identified more patients, and the entire community was evacuated. The residents are now being housed at the local community hall and ICDS centre.
Bleaching powder is strewn across the entire village and lies in small piles in the village. The body of Angalammal was on the floor of her hut in the afternoon. A resident who was nearby said they were unsure of what to do as there was no close relative immediately available except for a young boy. Most of the residents are agricultural workers and daily wage labourers, he said.
Later in the day, the body was buried with the help of the district administration.
‘No water contamination’
“There are no signs of water contamination. We have also checked for vector-borne diseases but the density of Aedes mosquitoes is very low. We suspect overcrowding in the huts and lack of ventilation could have led to a spread in respiratory infections,” said Director of Public Health K. Kolandaisamy, who was camping in the village.
He said hospitals were also testing for illnesses such as malaria, dengue and leptospirosis and were waiting for results. “The illness has been unusual in that most patients have only had respiratory tract infection symptoms such as coughs and colds. The fever has been low-grade. Symptoms of H1N1 include high fever and muscle pain which no one seems to have had,” he said. Test results are expected on Wednesday.
Sreenivasan’s sister Saroja, who was sitting inside the medical camp building, said he had fever and throat problems since Cyclone Vardah. Her husband and child too had been unwell, but both had recovered. “We still don’t know what happened to him at the hospital,” she said.
Officials inspects village
Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan visited the village on Tuesday morning along with the District Collector.
“We inspected the houses and the district administration will be taking action on rehabilitating the community. We have requested the families to stay in the community hall as of now. A series of precautionary measures such as spraying bleaching powder and disinfecting the houses have been taken. The mobile medical camp will also be stationed there. All the people who have been in contact with those who fell ill have been given medication to prevent secondary infections,” he said.
Oseltamivir (used in H1N1 treatment) and antibiotics are being given, said Dr. Kolandaisamy. The local school has also been checked and health authorities are checking up on the absentees. Surrounding villages are also being checked for such cases, he said.
