The East Singhbhum health department transferred 20 doctors from urban areas to Potka and started a massive drive for testing and treatment of malaria in 20 villages of Potka Block on Saturday even as health minister Dr Irfan Ansari warned of strong action against negligent doctors and health staff, saying, ‘no malaria death is acceptable,’ officials said on Saturday.
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“I couldn’t come to Jamshedpur where malaria outbreak has taken a critical turn as the local MLA was not present but I will visit the affected areas in East Singhbhum and West Singhbhum districts shortly as soon as the local MLA is available. During my trip, malaria control drive, availability of medicines and health service delivery system will be reviewed,” said Ansari.
“Plasmodium falciparum (PF) is the most deadly parasite which destroys the red blood cells very fast once it enters the body, leading to cerebral malaria, the most deadly variant of malaria. It damages the kidney and liver of the patient if timely treatment is not available,” Dr Mrityunjay Dhawaria, vector-borne diseases (VBD) in-charge for Jamshedpur, said.
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District civil surgeon Dr Sahir Pal himself led the drive by inspecting a few villages and checked the health camps on Saturday.
“At least 20 doctors posted at the urban Ayushman Arogya Kendras of Jamshedpur have been shifted to rural Ayushman Arogya Kendras under the Potka community health centre (CHC). These doctors are holding mass screening, field testing, administering medicines to infected persons, fogging and running awareness campaign in 20 villages and adjacent villages. So far 2,300 malaria patients have been identified in testing of 1,66,00 persons in the district between June 29 and July 18, out of which 1,828 are cerebral malaria cases,” Dr Sahir Pal, East Singhbhum civil surgeon, told HT on Saturday.
Dr Pal further said malaria tests would now be carried out mandatorily in all cases of fever and stringent action would be taken against any type of negligent and laxity.
According to the health department, 114 new malaria patients were detected in testing of 12,918 persons on Friday, out of which 80 were cerebral malaria cases, 32 general malaria and two mixed infection cases. The highest 57 patients were detected in Potka, taking the total number of patients in the Block to 833.
Dr Ansari said he would soon visit the malaria-affected areas in Kolhan division and not tolerate any laxity on the part of the doctors or health staff.
Six minors from Potka – Lakshmi Sardar, Rahul Sardar, Subola Sardar, her sister Khusboo Sardar, Rakhi Sardar and Shiv Sardar – have already died of brain malaria.
12-year-old Anita Sardar also died with high fever and suspected brain malaria infection while her 5-year-old brother Ajay Sardar was battling for life in the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College Hospital (MGMMCH) in Jamshedpur
This apart, another minor girl from Kakrisol Kiran Hansda, a youth from Jadugora Ritik Singh, a woman Mary Bandara from Turiyabera, Ganesh Besra from Tilkagarh and another minor girl from Adityapur Gudiya Das have died of brain malaria so far, taking the death toll to 11 as of now.
“I have directed the Jamshedpur civil surgeon to run the malaria control drive on a war footing, ensure timely testing and treatment of every patient and stringent action against any form of slackness, laxity and negligence. Not a single death due to malaria is acceptable and will not be tolerated,” Ansari told the media.
The minister had inspected the malaria control exercise in and around Ranchi on Friday.
