Diarrhoea situation worsens in Nilphamari

Patients crowd the floor of diarrhoea ward at Nilphamari Sadar Hospital.. PHOTO: STAR

At least 8,000 people have been attacked as the disease is spreading to fresh areas.

The 13 dead are Marufa, 8, Marifa, 26, Rabiul Islam, 25 and Sahoddi, 55 of Sadar upazila; Noori Begam, 35, Faridul, 11, Moina, 8 and Mozahan Ali, 55, of Domar; Hekmat, 25, Rahim, 7, and Mostafa, 32 of Jaldhaka and Wahid, 32, and Rozina, 30, of Saidpur upazila.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

The district health department control room however confirmed six deaths from diarrhoea.

Sources said 241 diarrhoea patients took treatment in all the six government hospitals in the district yesterday. With this, the number of diarrhoea patients taking treatment at government hospitals since the first week of October rose to 3,500.

The situation is unchanged in Sadar and Saidpur upazilas. But it is spreading to fresh areas in Domar and Kishoreganj upazilas, sources said yesterday.

Fifty-four patients were admitted to Dilma upazila health complexes and 53 to Kishoreganj health complex yesterday.

The district administration earlier formed two teams headed by two ADCs to monitor the diarrhoea situation.

The district health department also formed a high powered 'Rapid Response Team' headed by senior medical officer Dr Abdul Majid.

In six upazilas, six emergency medical teams have also been formed headed by the Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer.

Besides, 72 medical teams are working in rural areas. Nilphamari and Saidpur municipal authorities have also formed two medical teams headed by sanitary officials.

On Wednesday, a fresh consignment of 7,500 bags of IV Saline and other medicines reached Nilpahmari from Dhaka, the control room said.

At Nilphamari 50-bed hospital, diarrhoea patients were seen on floors yesterday.

A number of patients alleged that before patients were released from the hospital before they were fully cured. So many of them returned to the hospital.

Talking to this correspondent, the hospital authorities questioned the quality and effectiveness of IV saline supplied by UNICEF. These are less effective than those supplied by the health department, they said.

Deputy Commissioner Rabindro Nath Roy Chowdhury talking to newsmen refuted the allegation by Awami League lawmaker Asaduzzaman Noor that the district health officials were hiding the actual number diarrhoea deaths.

He said crisis of food and drinking water due to the recent flood and poor sanitation in rural areas have aggravated the situation. Poor people are being attacked as they eat uneatable things due to monga.

The civil surgeon meanwhile said he has a list of 40 people who died recently. Of them, six died of diarrhoea and 34 died of other diseases. But a section of newspapers wrongly reported that all the deaths were from diarrhoea, he regretted.