On 16th December 1971, East Pakistan was liberated, forming what we know today as Bangladesh. Following the war, nearly 10 million people took refuge in India.
But as the monsoon arrived, with heavy rains and floods, also came cholera. With a lack of access to food, clean water and sanitation, the cholera epidemic killed over 5,000 people in the refugee camps alone.
In one such refugee camp at Bangaon in West Bengal, the situation was turning critical. The camp was running out of saline fluid, a standard treatment for cholera in those days. The clock was ticking fast as hundreds more awaited treatment.
Dr Dilip Mahalnabis, a Kolkata-based paediatrician, stepped in. From his research, he knew that a solution of sugar and salt, which would increase water absorption by the body, could save lives.
He turned to Oral Rehydration Therapy, an unpopular treatment for diarrhoea in those days. Against the odds, and with the help of Johns Hopkins University, he began giving out a mixture of table salt, baking soda and glucose with clean drinking water. He and his team then prepared and stored the solution in large drums, from where patients or their relatives could help themselves.
In the next 14 days, the number of deaths declined from 30 per cent to 3.6 per cent in the refugee camps.
We look at Dr Mahalanabis’s contribution to the field of health and his awards and recognition.
COMMents
SHARE