THREE DEAD OF FEVER IN MALDA VILLAGES

SNS, Malda, 4 October: An unknown fever claimed three lives including that of two minors while several are seriously ill across the five villages of Bamongram Mosiimpur gram panchayat area of Kaliachak I block. Children and women, it is learnt, are the worst sufferers. At least twenty one persons have been admitted to the Malda Medical College and Hospital or Sujapur village hospital in the last three days.

However, the district health department dismissed the possibility of any such death due to fever and have sent a medical team to the area so as to determine the possible caused the deaths and take stock of the situation at first hand.

Speaking to mediapersons, the pradhan of the gram panchayat, Ms Tajkera Bibi, said that almost every house in the villages of Bamon gram, Mosimpur, Harugram, Paharpur and Baliarpur have family member suffering from fever and these were women or children.

"We have informed the health officials, but no initiative has been taken so far. The people here are now living inside the mosquito nets all the time owing to dengue panic," she added. Ms Bibi said that recent deaths of two minors has caused the panic to shoot upto a new high and added that the fever has some similarity to dengue, like strong headache, body ache amongst others.

The Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr Dilip Kumar Mandal, said; "It seem s that that fever is viral. So far we haven't received any confirmation of dengue outbreak in those villages. From 17 September onwards there were three deaths reported from there but those were due to blood cancer, encephalitis and typhoid, Still, we have initiated blood tests of the 53 patients found there suffering from fever and cleaned the area."