The mystery behind what has come to be known as ‘Uddanam nephropathy’ is set to be resolved in a couple of months with the help of biomarkers sourced from Harvard University .
The unusually high prevalence of kidney disease in the fertile Uddanam area in Srikakulam district, which is a staggering 25 to 30 per cent compared to the normal rate of 7 per cent at the national level, had created panic. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) took up investigation and sought the help of HU, which supplied biomarkers using which urine samples of the people of Uddanam are being studied at the Andhra Medical College in Visakhapatnam in addition to analysis of water and soil in the area taken up by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). NTR University of Health Sciences Vice-Chancellor T. Ravi Raju, who has been associated with the project from the days of his stint as Superintendent of King George Hospital, said tissue analysis of patients was also done through biopsy, and the initial conclusion was that silicon and some other trace elements were found in high concentration in drinking water.
Dr. Ravi Raju had given a presentation on ‘Uddanam nephropathy in India’ in the session on Regional Nephropathies at 9th Conference on Kidney Disease in Disadvantaged Populations held as a satellite meeting of the World Congress of Nephrology in Hong Kong last year. He is hopeful that the ongoing research work would help in curbing the menace. Hundreds of people died have died in a decade in Itchapuram, Kanchili, Kaviti, Mandasa, Sompeta and Vajrapukotthuru mandals.
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