A diarrhoea outbreak has been reported from Gomia block of the district with one woman dying and more than seven residents of Birhor Danda village, including three women of the primitive Birhor tribe affected by the ailment.
According to reports one Sabitri Birhor died and 7 members of Birhors, namely Puri Birhor, Gurni Birhor, Niraj Birhor, Simti Birhor, Tulbul Birhor, Prakash Birhor and Akash Birhor all resident of Handa, were admitted to the government hospital in Gomia.
The outbreak has sounded alarm bells for the district health machinery with officials deploying doctors and initiating health camps in affected villages. Civil surgeon of Bokaro, Dr Suben Murmu said the doctor of Gomia health centre had gone to Deoghar for Shravani Mela duty, while Dr Heron Bangla visited today the affected village like Danda and Tulbul village and given those proper medicines and their condition is under control. While one kid of 2 year old got serious and was admitted to Bokaro hospital after getting proper medicines and referred to RIMS.
Punam Birhor, a resident of the same village, said apart from her several villagers have been suffering with the illness for past two weeks. Many of them have been released from the hospital after treatment.
People are being provided treatment at health centre in Gomia Block. Besides, government health centres across the district have been alerted, said district Civil surgeon. “The private hospitals also recorded few cases of diarrhoea in town these days,” a local resident said.
The villagers of Birhor families have been forced to drinking waters from local drains and that without cleaning it. “We are taking precautionary measures to stop the disease from spreading but we not are able to do so, Punam Birhor added.