Over 1.5 lakh fall sick due to water-borne viral fevers

Khammam: Over 1.5 lakh people in the district have fallen sick due to water-borne diseases rather than malaria and dengue fevers. Residents of many towns in the district are turning victims to various fevers, contributed mainly due to lack of personal hygiene and unhealthy surroundings.

As many as 157,445 people have fallen sick due of viral fevers. Double this number is said to be admitted to private hospitals. District Medical and Health Officer Kondal Rao told The Hans India that water pollution was the reason behind the ongoing viral fevers.

Rao said kidney ailments were increasing in people suffering from viral fevers because of indiscriminate consumption of antibiotics along with tablets to prevent the fever. “The department is contemplating to conduct medical camps to create public awareness on this issue in areas where such fevers are widespread,” he said.

People are also taking ill as panchayat officials were not taking care to provide clean drinking water in rural areas, mainly due to lack of coordination among the employees of RWS, municipalities and panchayats. The employees are allegedly discharging only notional duty without any concern for people’s welfare,” a resident of Gollagudem village in Palvancha mandal, Prasad, told The Hans India.

While during the last two years there were more cases of dengue and malaria, this year more incidents of viral fevers have been reported in Khammam, Bhadrachalam and Paloncha. There are more cases of malaria in Wajedu, Satyanarayanapuram, Karakagudem, Janampeta, Parnashala and Charla. Residents of Allapalli, Gundala, Manchukonda and Romped have fallen victims to dengue.

There have been more cases of typhoid. Figures obtained from government hospitals show that 6,716 are being treated for typhoid. The Health department confirmed 631 cases of malaria, 40 cases of dengue, seven of diarrhoea and two Chikungunya.

Even as the figure threatens to touch the two lakh mark and thousands of families are experiencing hardships after being hospitalised, officials and public representatives are allegedly indifferent to their plight. People were being forced to consume contaminated water supplied by municipalities and gram panchayats in the absence of an alternative.

There are also allegations that employees of the sanitation wing in Khammam, Kothagudem, Palvancha and Sathupalli municipalities are in deep slumber.

They don’t bother to clear drainage canals and take preventive steps to check unhygienic conditions around houses. As a result the mosquito menace has become serious. An instance of the employees’ inactivity is evident from the piled up tender coconuts in the agency areas after being thrown by people.