Rajbiraj/Itahari, July 29:

Diarrhoea, dysentery, colitis and viral fever are raging in the flood-affected areas of Saptari and Sunsari districts. The main cause of the outbreaks is contaminated drinking water.

Rampuramalhaniya, Bamangamakatti, Sakarpura, Barsain, Lauiniya and many other VDCs of Saptari are seeing a rise in the number of people suffering from diarrhoea, dysentery and

viral fever. In Rampuramalhaniya VDC alone, over 100 persons have fallen ill, said a local Mahendra Prasad Yadav.

He said some of the patients are seeking treatment in local medical stores. However, for want of roads and the fact that the VDC is submerged by the floodwater, most of the patients are deprived of treatment.

Chief of the district public health office Jagdish Jha said a team of health personnel, including doctors, has been dispatched to Bamangamakatti VDC. Due to scant information and lack of road, another team of health workers could not be sent to Sakarpur VDC, he said. In 21 flood-hit VDCs of Sunsari district, an increasing number of people are falling prey to viral fever, colitis, diarrhoea and dysentery. The outbreak has spread to the Itahari municipality also, said the Sunsari district public health office.

Sunsari DPHO chief Ramdhan Meheta said the number of patients visiting the 40 sub-health posts, seven health posts and five primary health posts in the district was swelling by the day. Meanwhile, residents of Dewangunj VDC in the district complained that the DPHO was not doing enough to provide medical aid to the sufferers.

10 die of dysentery

RAMECHHAP: Five persons have died of dysentery in different villages of Ramechhap in seven days. Sabina Karki, 5, Krishna Maya Khatri, 74, and Ganga Maya Khatri, 78, of Gothgaun-5, wife of Kale Newar and one unidentified person died of dysentery at Tapke.

Meanwhile, five persons have died of dysentery in three days in Kalagaon VDC of Salyan. Salyan district public health office chief Dr Khagendra Gelal said: “We have confirmed reports of five deaths due to dysentery, while an unconfirmed report said a two-year-old boy also died.” — HNS