3 weeks ago
Six children dead in Madhya Pradesh village outbreak; cause unknown
Something is making children sick in a faraway part of India called Madhya Pradesh.
The children live in tiny villages near hills and thick forests.
Six children have died, and about one hundred have gotten sick with fevers and rashes.
For a long time, the health helpers did not know about the sick children.
It was very hard to reach the villages because they are in remote places.
Some parents were scared and did not want to send their children to the hospital.
A few parents even tried to heal the children with faith healing or hid them in the forest.
The police had to help the doctors bring the children to the hospital.
Doctors are now testing blood samples to find out what is making the children sick.
Until they know the cause, they are keeping the children under medical care to help them get better.
Six children have died and about 100 others have fallen ill in four remote Baiga-dominated villages of Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat district over the past month.
The health department said it learnt about the deaths only after three children had already died.
Authorities faced a difficult terrain and reluctant parents, eventually taking police help to get sick children to hospitals; some parents even hid children in forests.
The affected children, aged between one and 13, reported high fever, rashes, red spots, stomach pain and ulcers; 47 are admitted to hospitals and 54 are being treated at home.
Blood samples have been sent to the ICMR-National Institute of Research in Bacterial Infections in Kolkata and the ICMR-National Institute of Virology in Pune, while a Jabalpur Medical College team investigates the outbreak.
- Who
- Children from four Baiga-dominated villages in Balaghat district, Madhya Pradesh, along with district health officials led by chief medical and health officer Paresh Upal.
- What
- An outbreak of an unidentified illness that has killed six children and sickened about 100 others.
- Where
- Adori, Kundeksa, Bondari and Korka villages in the Baihar area of Balaghat district, Madhya Pradesh, India.
- When
- Over the past month.
- Why
- The exact cause is unknown; blood samples have been sent to two ICMR laboratories for testing as authorities investigate.
Key facts
- Deaths
- 6 children
- Total cases
- About 100 children
- Affected villages
- Adori, Kundeksa, Bondari, Korka (Baihar area, Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh)
- Age group
- 1 to 13 years
- Symptoms
- High fever, rashes, red spots, stomach pain, ulcers
- Current care
- 47 hospitalized; 54 treated at home
- Testing labs
- ICMR institutes in Kolkata and Pune
- Official quoted
- Balaghat CMHO Paresh Upal
Quotes
Paresh Upal
Chief Medical and Health Officer of Balaghat district
“It was extremely difficult to access the terrain because some of the houses were located on a small hill, while others were situated near dense forested regions. So it was very difficult to carry out a health investigation on the ground.”
indianexpress.com
“We got to know about the deaths after three had already taken place. After a local source informed us, we sent out a team.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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