VIJAYAPURA: After a teenager died due to Japanese encephalitis (JE), district health officials on Monday swung into action and collected blood samples of over 200 children of Shikarakane Layout in Vijayapura city.
The victim has been identified as Dhanamma Hugar (13), a resident of Shikarakane Layout in Vijayapura city. She breathed her last at a private hospital on Sunday. Parents and relatives of the victim staged a protest alleging that it is due to negligence of doctors, the district administration and the Vijayapura City Corporation, the teenager died
However, district health officials and the malaria inspector of the city corporation denied the allegation. The authorities rushed to the layout where the victim was staying and collected blood samples of over 200 children and sent it to Manipal Hospital.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Malaria Inspector Dr Jaebunnisa Bilagi said,“It is a rare disease that mainly occurs due to evening mosquito bites. As soon as we came to know about high fever of Dhanamma, we collected the blood sample and sent it to Manipal Hospital for a report. The result was positive that she was suffering from JE . She was admitted to BLDEA’s Hospital where she was given treatment for more than two months. She failed to respond to the treatment and breathed her last on Sunday which was not due to the negligence of doctors.”
“These kinds of diseases occur mainly in unhygienic atmosphere. We also alerted the city corporation to keep the streets clean and it is also the responsibility of residents to clean it. We have collected the blood samples of hundreds of children and are awaiting results from Manipal Hospital. Meanwhile, we are taking all necessary precautions,” detailed the malaria inspector.
In 2006, a child died due to JE and it is the second case in the last 13 years in the district. At least 68,000 cases of JE report annually from Asia.