RANCHI: A mysterious disease has claimed the lives of five members of a single family in Sikka village under the Padwa block of Palamu over the past 10 days.
According to health officials, the reason for death is still unknown.
On Sunday night, 20-year-old Nakul Mahto, the son of the late Kuldeep Mahto, passed away while undergoing treatment at RIMS in Ranchi. This marks the fifth death in the family.
Family's daughter-in-law, 28-year-old Shweta Devi, also succumbed while undergoing treatment at RIMS, Ranchi. The only surviving member of the household, Lakho Devi (52), wife of the late Kuldeep Mahto, is currently undergoing treatment at RIMS.
Kuldeep was first admitted to MMCH for treatment on June 16. Subsequently, Babita and Shweta were also admitted. The hospital administration referred Shweta to RIMS.
Villagers informed that the deceased Kuldeep Mahto first developed swelling in his legs, followed by a drop in blood levels.
Villagers noted that other family members were suffering from similar symptoms. “In an attempt to recover, family members tried everything from hospital treatment to faith healing, but all in vain. Five family members died one after another,” said a villager, Dilip Mehta.
"Fear persists among the local population regarding this illness," he said.
Kuldeep, Babita, the ailing Lakhon Devi, Shweta Devi, Indu Kumari and Nakul Mehta, instead of seeking hospital treatment, opted for faith healing only to lose their lives.
According to another villager, Rajnath Mahto, Indu Kumari was eventually admitted to the hospital under pressure from relatives after her condition worsened, but she passed away during treatment.
“Six months ago, when a family member fell ill, they had visited a healer who gave them sacred ash, claiming that it would cure the illness if they consumed it. Subsequently, whenever a family member fell ill, they would mix the ash with mustard oil available at home and consume it,” said Rajnath Mahto.
"The family had only recently had mustard oil extracted," he added.
Meanwhile, even after conducting post-mortems on two bodies on June 20, the Medinirai Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) administration has been unable to clarify the exact causes of death.
Palamu Civil Surgeon, Dr Anil Srivastava, said, “We are still unable to ascertain the exact cause of death. Suddenly, the oxygen level of the patients drops, leading to the death of the patients. Doctors at RIMS are also trying to find out the disease leading to the death of people in the family,” said the Civil Surgeon.
"Following the post-mortems, viscera samples from both bodies have been sent to RIMS for analysis; no report has been received from RIMS so far," he added.
According to the Civil Surgeon, the nature of the illness will only be confirmed once the test reports are received.
