Twelve people, including four children under 12, died in Lakhpat taluka in Gujarat’s Kutch district, days after the region was hit by heavy rains. Officials said on Sunday that the cause of death appears to be primarily pneumonitis.
However, some members of the local district panchayat said doctors had been unable to accurately diagnose the fever, which was also causing difficulty in breathing.
Medical services in the taluka, which is located close to the Pakistan border, have been stepped up with deployment of 22 surveillance teams, doctors and collecting samples from residents to rule out the possibility of H1N1, swine flu, Crimean-Congo fever, malaria and dengue, Kutch Collector Amit Arora said.
“The deaths appear to have been caused primarily by pneumonitis. It does not appear to be an infection or a contagious disease.
“Twenty-two teams from the health department are working in the affected areas, including those brought on deputation from two community health centres as well as rapid response teams from Rajkot PDU medical college,” he added.
Kutch district panchayat member Meenaba Jadeja, in a letter to Gujarat Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil, claimed that 12 people in the age group of 5 to 50 years died between September 3 and 9 due to fever in Bekhada, Sanandro, Morgar and Bharavandh villages in Lakhpat taluka. “The feverish people were earlier admitted to a private hospital in Vermanagar town in Lakhpat taluka.
“They were then taken to Dayapar CHC and finally to Bhuj General Hospital. One patient was shifted to Ahmedabad. He died without recovering from the fever,” said Hussain Rayma, a former Lakhpat panchayat member. According to residents, the patients had fever, cold, cough, pneumonia and difficulty in breathing, while another district panchayat member, Mamd Jung Jat, said doctors had not been able to make an accurate diagnosis of the disease.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.