Famine, gastroenteritis plague Bajura, Viral fever hits Ilam villages

[Angel]

Sappata,BAJURA, Aug 6 - "My baby has been sick with diarrhea since many days now; have you brought some medicine?" This is a common question that people in Sappata Dumkot village ask every newcomer in the locality, as the epidemic has badly affected the area lately.

Already reeling under acute food shortage, the villagers' woes have been compounded these days by gastroenteritis. Over a dozen people, mostly children, have already fallen prey to gastroenteritis within the last one month and many others have been bed-ridden.

"My 40-year-old mother, who was suffering from gastroenteritis, died 10 days ago for lack of treatment," said Shanta Bhandari of ward-7. Twelve children, aged two to four months, were among those who died of the illness, he said.

"Most of the children and women here are now sick, but they could not be offered treatment for lack of medicine," lamented Deepak Hamal, a local, who lost his three-year old child. The nearest health post, which is at the end of a day's walk, has not been visited by any doctor or health worker since long.

According to him, eating soup made out of stinging nettle for lack of other food and deaths due to gastroenteritis are now commonplace in the area. "The health post in the village has already run out of medicines, and we cannot go to Kolti or other places for treatment."

When a team of journalists turned up at the village, most locals did not fail to ask whether they had brought gastro medicine with them.

"Locals are dying due to famine and diarrhea, but the government is least concerned about our plight," Hamal said ruefully.

Meanwhile, a large number of cases of viral fever are being reported from the village in the district. According to doctors, the number of patients with the disease is increasing as viral fever can be transmitted through the simple contact with the patients.

A large number of students of Araniko Primary School at Sankhejung-9 in the district are down with viral fever bringing educational activity in the school to a halt for the past four days.

According to Principal Pasang Sherpa, the school has announced indefinite closure after a majority of the students suffer from simple cold followed by headache and high fever. "Until all the students regain their good health, we will not open the school," he said.

There has also been low turn out of students of Nepaltar Secondary School in Nepaltar and other schools due to the same reason.

Sherpa also informed that lack of medicine in the local sub-health post aggravating the situation. The medicines for the disease provided to health centers by the District Hospital (DH) are not sufficient for the increasing number of patients, said a paramedic.

Confirming the spread of the disease, Daya Shankar Karna, doctor at the DH said that such cases of viral fever have also been detected in other villages and bazaar areas lately. "As it can be easily transmitted through simple contacts with the patients, the number of the patients is on rise," Dr Karna added.