'Mysterious fever' grips village in Karnataka's Koppal, officials say outbreak under control

Koppal: Lack of cleanliness and supply of non-portable water is said to be the main reasons for several people falling ill in Nerebenchi village of Kushtagi taluk in Koppal district.

Residents of the village have been suffering from fever, joint pains and gastroenteritis symptoms for the last fortnight. While villagers claim that more than 150 people have been suffering from fever and other ailments since January 25; the district administration claims that so far blood samples of only one patient have turned positive for Chikungunya, while others are suffering from common viral fever. Nearly 900 people are living in the village.

Villagers charged that taluk medical officials neglected the repeated complaints from them regarding the outbreak of the “mysterious fever”. Beerappa, a resident of the village, said the situation turned worse after doctors at the taluk hospital did not provide proper treatment in the initial days forcing us to organise a health camp at our own expense.

“We treated our patients at the courtyard of temples and other make-shift places as there was no space at Taluk Hospital. On day one (January 25) nearly 70 people fell ill and the next day another 40 people started complaining of high fever and joint pains,” said Beerappa.

The district administration swung into action after a section of the media started highlighting the issue.

On Thursday the administration shifted four serious patients to Taluk Hospital in Kustagi, while others are being treated at the makeshift camp itself.

“The outbreak of the fever has been brought under control. On February 8, nearly 37 residents of the village complained of fever and other ailments. However, 18 of them had mild fever and have been asked to rest at their houses,” said Koppal District Health Officer Lingaraju T.

He said poor sanitation and contaminated water as major reasons for the outbreak of fever in the village. “So far there is only one case of confirmed Chikungunya case. We are keeping a tab on the health condition of other patients also and there are no serious cases,” he said.

Taluk-level officials, who visited the village on Thursday, ensured that the clogged drainages were desilted and fogging against mosquitoes were taken up. The health officials are also creating awareness among people to drink boiled water.

Officials have also assured the villagers of setting an RO plant with the village limit for drinking water purposes.