Rains stop, diseases stalk flood-hit

Sarlahi, August 5:

Now that the rains have stopped, flood-hit areas in the district are reeling under the havoc of diarrhoea and viral influenza.

Head of the district public health office, Arun Jha, said diarrhoea and viral influenza have been detected in three VDCs where communication resumed after the rains stopped.

One Mansuk Sahani’s 11-year-old daughter, Rinku Kumari, of Manpur VDC-3 along the banks of the Bagmati river, died of diarrhoea yesterday morning, the health office said. Manpur is 23 km west of the district headquarters, Malangwa.

Ram Biswas Roy of the Madhesi Loktantrik Morcha told this daily that one Chetan Roy’s wife in the same VDC miscarried and that 25-year-old Ram Pari Devi, wife of Sikandar Sahani, died of diarrhoea. He added that Bachan Mahato’s 26-year-old wife Kaushalya Devi of Harakathwa VDC-1 was in a critical condition.

According to the health assistant at the Harakathwa area health post, Satya Narayan Yadav, at least 200 persons from 40 households of Manpur VDC are undergoing treatment for diarrhoea. He added that 244 viral fever patients and 36 diarrhoea patients are undergoing treatment in neighbouring Khairwa VDC. Health Minister Giriraj Pokharel, who reached the flood-affected areas by helicopter yesterday, has instructed the director general of the department of health services, Dr Govinda Ojha, to keep a team ready with medicines to treat the patients in the affected

areas.