Staff Correspondent
Four people from Rangpur and Nilphamari are admitted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital with symptoms similar to nipah infection, director general of directorate of health services Khandaker Shefayet Ullah said on Monday.
Shefayet Ullah, who visited the northern division on Monday, told New Age, ‘Based on symptoms, the doctors assumed that they might be nipah infected. The patients are being treated in isolation. But we can confirm about the infection after laboratory tests.’
He said panicked people who had left Hatibandha in fear of the ‘mystry disease’ might be spreading the virus in the other Upazilas.
Shefayet Ullah said they were working to restore confidence in the community people. ‘Frightened people left their homes in panic. Now we are working to involve the local people including the rural elite and political leaders to fight the epidemic.’
He also said that the emergency units at the government hospitals were not well equipped. He said that the government has planned to develop the emergency units of all the district hospitals and hospitals besides the highways.
There was no fresh case of nipah infection at Hatiban-dha in the last couple of days, he said adding it seemed that the situation is now under control at the Upazila.
Institute of Epidemiology, Diseases Control and Research senior scientific officer Mushtak Hossain told New Age that there was no death caused by nipah virus on Monday.
‘But we examined a new patient at Hatibandha who has some symptoms like nipah virus infection,’ said Mustak.
He said they had provided training to the health workers of the area so that they can handle the cases of nipah infection.
Death toll from encephalitis caused by nipah virus at Hatibandha in Lalmonirhat reached 25 till Monday, according to local sources.
However, the IEDCR confirmed the death of 17 people out of 24 nipah infected patients in the area.
The outbreak of the virus was first marked a week back in Hatibandha. IEDCR laboratory reports later confirmed it was virus nipah.
The government has, meanwhile, intensified surveillance and measures including distribution of leaflets and closing down of all educational institutions in the Hatibandha Upazila for a week to check the spread of the virus.
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