Grief shrouds Tiruvallur villages

Mystery over what caused the deaths of four children adds to woes of families

Precautionary step:A child gets vaccinated at a health camp held at Kaverirajapuram, Thiruvallur. Photo: R. Ragu

Standing at the doorway of his house in Adi Andhrawada village, Shankaiyah S. looks exhausted. It’s been three days since his five-year-old son Mohan Kumar died at the Institute of Child Health (ICH), Egmore, but he is still clueless as to what happened. In the adjoining street, M. Naveen Kumar too, faces the same dilemma. His younger brother, Santhosh (a.k.a Sathish), died a few days before Mohan Kumar at the same hospital and Naveen wants to know what the term ‘sepsis/refractory shock/DIVC’ — stated on his death certificate — means.

All around, work is being carried out to de-silt and clean stormwater drains and new pipes have been laid. A health camp has been set up and drinking water is being supplied through tankers and water cans. Bleaching powder is being used. For the grief-stricken families of the four children who have died in the two villages however, the question remains: how did this happen?

Officials say the infections in the village are mixed: one child was known to have dengue, another leptospirosis, while in the other two cases, the cause was unclear. Of the 10 cases admitted at hospitals from the two villages over the last few days, a child has tested positive for dengue. “All 10 are stable. We have given broad spectrum antibiotics to all 2,000 people in the villages,” said Director of Public Health K. Kolandaisamy.

Contaminated water, said an official at the health camp, was likely to be the cause. Officials also point to quacks operating near the villages.

At nearby Kaverirajapuram, M. Babu and his wife Mariamma have lost their only child, Yuvraj. They too, like Shankaiyah who first went to a private hospital in Arakkonam, first consulted a private doctor who gave him injections, then went to a private doctor in Ambattur and from there to ICH.

But what stands out, especially in Naveen Kumar’s story, is the lack of information provided to families. “We originally went to a PHC, where a blood test was done, but they refused to give us the report. At Tiruvallur GH, we were told his platelet count was very low and he had viral fever and I asked to be referred to ICH. I still don’t know what happened,” he said.

There have been no new cases of fever, said Dr. Kolandaisamy. “We also sent a team to Andhra Pradesh to inform the authorities there about the situation, as these villages are on the border,” he said. A review meeting was held on Tuesday.