By Sampat G. Samritan
Copyright deccanchronicle
Vijayawada: Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav has called for a comprehensive report within a week on the reasons for the 30 deaths in Turakapalem village in Guntur district.The minister reviewed the health condition of the people and the health survey carried out among the people having health issues, with senior health officials at the state secretariat on Friday. Yadav said senior officials would continue monitoring the situation in the village. He observed that the district authorities failed to alert the government on a series of deaths in the village and called for strengthening the surveillance in the health department so that any major observations by the ANMs during their door-to-door visit with regard to fevers should be informed to the district authorities who in turn should alert the state government. Health commissioner G Veerapandian and director of medical education R Raghunandan briefed the minister on the reasons that caused the deaths and the collection of blood samples and their analysis report. Accordingly, the village has 2,018 persons aged above 18. Of them, 1,501 live in the village. Some 42 types of tests were carried out. As 109 persons were suffering fever, a blood culture was done to which four per cent of them tested positive to melioidosis bacterial infection. Of them, one person died later and three were recovering. The soil samples analysis report is yet to come. The officials explained to the minister details of tests carried out on the villagers and said seven per cent of the 1,501 persons tested were having blood sugar. Nearly 48 per cent were suffering anemia in which 66 per cent were women. The minister said that they were strengthening the app to send alert messages to both the DMHOs and the state-level health officials simultaneously, in case the health personnel find more deaths in the villages during their routine visits. This would help the state government to initiate necessary steps. The minister also asked the officials to study the health condition of the people at Tharedypalem village on the lines of Turakapalem.
