Sudipto Mondal/The Hindu
Mangalore, Aug 21: Sections of the local media have been carrying reports over the past two months about what they contend are deaths in the district due to chikungunya. But the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not recorded even one death caused by the disease. The WHO website says, “There are no specific drugs to cure the disease. Treatment is directed primarily at relieving the symptoms”.
Chikungunya, by itself, is not a fatal disease.
The reports have led to widespread panic across the district, particularly in rural areas, say doctors.
But since the first reports began appearing in mid-June, there has been no firm communiqué from the Health Department to allay the fears of the people.
Medical experts in the district do not believe that anyone has died from chikungunya. Instead, they alleged that the Health Department is directly responsible for the deaths.
At a review meeting chaired by Principal Health Secretary Madan Gopal on July 5, doctors contended that the use of certain drugs that had side-effects might be endangering the lives of patients and demanded that they be discontinued immediately.
Professor of Medicine at K.V.G. Medical College A.G. Kulkarni had argued that since the prevalence of chikungunya had reached epidemic proportions, doctors did not have time to check each patient for drug resistance.
Expert Srinivas Kakkilaya had said, “Other diseases could have been missed by the doctors considering the sheer numbers of patients they are handling each day.”
On June 28, a committee was formed on the orders of the district in-charge Minister J. Krishna Palemar. Headed by forensic expert Uday Kumar, the committee was entrusted with the task of inquiring into the deaths in the district. The committee was supposed to present the report at the July 5 review meeting but it failed to do so.
When the District Health Officer H. Jagannath was contacted on Wednesday he said that he had not yet received the report. But when Dr. Kumar was contacted, he told The Hindu that he had submitted the report more than 15 days ago.
Dr. Jagannath said he would enquire into the matter.