KANPUR: With 20 more deaths being reported from the Kanpur Dehat region during the last 24 hours, the mystery fever continued to take a heavy toll, especially among the poor Dalit families.

Thu, Aug 28 01:10 AM

THE HEALTH Department has established a scientific committee to unravel the mystery over the virus that is preying upon children in the districts of East Uttar Pradesh. Secretary, Health, Prashant Trivedi, told Hindustan Times on Tuesday that a committee under the chairmanship of Milind Gore of the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, had been set up to find the virus that had infected hundreds of children in East Uttar Pradesh.

'Don't know what caused the deaths'

Doctors at Sassoon Hospital, who are in the thick of the swine flu battle, are a worried lot. Thirty-five patients with swine flu-like symptoms died in the last 45 days at the hospital, and not one of them tested positive for swine flu. The doctors still don't know what caused the death of these patients. Tell the world "We requested the National Institute of Virology (NIV) to check tissue samples from these patients for eight to 10combinations of the HN virus subtype like H1N2 or H2N2. It is extremely important that the virus is identified so we can decide on the course of treatment," said Dr Arun Jamkar, dean of Sassoon Hospital, which has been dubbed as the epicentre of the swine flu activity in the state. On October 28, doctors at Sassoon shared the data on these deaths with the Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, USA, and virologists across the world in a videoconference. Despite repeated attempts, Dr A C Mishra, director of NIV, remained unavailable for comment. Dr Mandeep Chaddha, deputy director, NIV, said she wasn't authorised to speak to the media.

Medical teams have reached the affected villages where they are distributing medicines to patients and collecting blood samples for examinations.

“A major reason behind the spread of viral fever and jaundice in both the villages is the lack of cleanliness,” said Singh.

He pointed out that several areas in both the villages are under water. “No affected person is in a serious condition,” he claimed.