SURKHET: One week has passed since cholera was diagnosed as the main contributing factor to the huge death toll, but the government is yet to provide necessary medicines and deploy skilled health workers to contain the outbreak in Jajarkot. Three more patients succumbed to diarrhoea today taking the death toll to 159. The deceased are Birmi BK (10) of Rabda -2 and Tule Basnet (71) and his wife Naina (63) of Garkhakot village. Common medicines meant for diarrhoea patients are being given to cholera patients. “Before diagnosing whether one is a diarrhoea or a cholera patient, the medicines meant to treat diarrhoea is being administered to the patients,” said Narayan Prasad Pokharel, health worker based in Thalaha village. Dr Ananda Shrestha, chief, Mid-Western Regional Health Directorate, maintained that the cholera medicines were not sufficient as the disease was identified recently. “The cholera can be identified only after a health check-up. Due to lack of skilled health workers and other resources, the diarrhoea medicines are being given to the patients.” Dr Shrestha added that he had prescribed tetracycline and doxycycline with sipro for cholera. “However, both these medicines are not sufficient to cure the disease,” he said. Diarrhoea patients continue dying in their homes in far-flung areas before they could be taken to the health camps due to remoteness. More than 200 health workers have been mobilised in various 24 temporary health camps. According to Dr Shrestha, the treatment facilities being offered in the camps were barely effective as more than 90 per cent of those dead breathed their last before they could be taken to the camps.

Health workers flee villages

JAJARKOT: Ram Kumar Gautam, the assistant health worker in the sub-health post in Jajarkot’s Majhakot VDC, left the office after he himself contracted diarrhoea. Gautam had taken charge of the office after his predecessor, Hari Lamichhane, quit the job three months ago. Dr Krishnahari Subedi, chief, District Public Health Office, said seven physicians of Nepal Medical Association had already left the villages without information. Five health workers deployed from Nepalgunj Medical College too fled the village fearing they would be infected, he added. — HNS