There was silence in Kursauli village underneath Kalyanpur block of Kanpur Nagar district on Saturday afternoon, many homes had been locked. Panic broke out right here as a minimum of 12 individuals died as a result of “mysterious fever” previously month, many left. Another dying was reported on Saturday, that of Geeta (40), aunt of village head Amit Singh.
Anil Kumar (40), who works in a personal firm in Kanpur metropolis, says his youngsters and spouse are at his in-laws’ home, whereas he’s left behind to care for their buffalo. “If people did not have cattle and farms, the village would be empty. There is not a single house in which there are no cases of fever and many have gone to their relatives’ houses. Some have even rented houses in the adjoining areas,” says Kumar.
The listing ready by well being officers reveals 14-year-old Tannu Prajapati’s first dying as a result of “mysterious fever” on August 20. Of the opposite 11 lifeless, 9 had been younger women or girls – Parvati (62), Julie (23), Sonali (19), Lakshmi Prajapati (40), Lakshmi Devi (45), Chama Tiwari (28), Urmila (35), Nirmala Tiwari (65), Vaishnavi (11). Among those that died had been Shiv Ram Prajapati (56) and Man Singh (55). Geeta Singh’s dying is but to be recorded.
Additional Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Kanpur Nagar district, Dr Subodh Prakash, admitted that they’re but to determine the precise reason behind the deaths. “Most of those who died were not tested for dengue or malaria, while all those who tested positive for dengue have recovered. Zero malaria cases have been found in the tests conducted,” mentioned Prakash, including {that a} three-member committee underneath the district public well being knowledgeable has been constituted to conduct the dying audit.
“It is not a problem in the neighboring villages,” he mentioned.
Tannu’s father is a each day wage employee like many of the incomes members of this village of about 1,200 individuals. His sister Aarti says, “At least four people in the family had fever. Tanu fell ill on 18 August and died while we were taking her to Hallet (Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital). Our brother who is five years old.”
48-year-old farmer Pradeep Tiwari says that a minimum of 50 homes out of 180 within the village are locked. Tiwari’s aunt Nirmala Tiwari (65) and sister-in-law Chama Tiwari (28) died of fever inside days of one another.
He drops his voice saying that he doesn’t wish to inform the relations, together with his uncle Chandrashekhar (70), who continues to be battling fever, who’s on oxygen assist at house.
Sarpanch Amit Singh says that he’s shocked by the dying of his aunt. “She was healthy. Three days ago when she developed fever, we took her to a private hospital. Her condition deteriorated and she was referred to another hospital, where she died.”
Mohini Gupta’s daughter Vaishnavi is the youngest casualty. The 11-year-old died inside three days of getting the fever. “She had abdominal pain, vomiting and high fever. My younger son also fell ill but recovered. We spent over Rs 1 lakh on treatment, borrowed from local people and moneylenders,” says Gupta.
Her husband sells chaat from a handcart, she provides. “How do we repay that money?”
Lashing out on the officers, she says they got here and threatened to sue them for not constructing a pucca bathroom. The household makes use of the pit dug exterior the home as a bathroom. “You tell me how should we build toilets when most of the family members are sick and we have huge debts?” Gupta says.
The household of Julie, who died on September 5, can also be frightened concerning the warning of constructing a bathroom. His brother Raghavendra says, “All 13 people in my family have got fever in the last one month.”
An official of the Kalyanpur Community Health Center (CHC), urging the villagers to construct bathrooms, admitted that they believed choke drains might be one of many causes for the outbreak of fever. “The village does not have a sewage system. They throw garbage in open drains… We have given notices to 30 families to build proper toilets soon. A public announcement was also made regarding this,” says the official.
Additional CMO Prakash says, “We are doing fogging, spraying and different issues to make sure cleanliness. We are additionally working a marketing campaign to make individuals aware of it.”
Pharmacist Jitendra Kumar, who was a part of the well being crew on the CHC on Saturday, mentioned, “As per our survey on Thursday, 52 individuals had fever. We acquired details about 18 extra circumstances on Friday, and eight right now. Many individuals have additionally recovered. We are retaining a detailed watch.”
Kumar admitted there was panic. “Some people are in hospitals… About 40 percent of the houses are empty because people have gone to their relatives’ homes.”
The villagers of Kursauli are frightened that they might face additional boycott. “People from neighboring villages have started avoiding us. If the fever situation is not controlled we may soon find it difficult to find work in the nearby villages,” says Dashrath (38), who works as an agricultural labourer.
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
