Haryana Health department teams rush to Chilli village after 7 children die due to high fever

The death of 7 children, all under the age of 14 years has terrorised the residents of Chilli village in Palwal district of Haryana.

Palwal: Health Department teams rushed to Chilli village of Palwal district in Haryana after several children fell ill and deaths were reported due to high fever.

As per media reports, in the last three weeks, 7 children under the age of 14 years have died due to an unidentified reason which has created fear in the area. While the locals claim that the deaths are the result of dengue outbreak authorities are yet to find a link.

Dr Vijay Kumar, Senior Medical Officer, Hathin told IANS that the efforts to contain the spread of fever are in full swing. "We got news of some cases of fever and 1-2 deaths. Taking notice of that, our health teams have come here."

"We are doing surveys. Medicines are being provided and an Out Patient Department (OPD) is being run. Spraying is being done. Testing for COVID-19, Dengue, Malaria has been started. We are also testing for other causes of fever. We have taken samples of 80 people who are having fevers. No malaria cases have been reported. 4-5 children have died due to dengue and several children are ill," Kumar said.

Kumar added that people were being made aware of Dengue and Malaria and ways to control them. He requested people to ensure that water does not stagnate anywhere, their surroundings are clean and they wear full-sleeved clothing.

Though the actual cause of fever has not been confirmed by the health department yet, the prevalence of fever over the last few days in the village has caused fear within the residents of the village and some parents have lost their children.

"Doctors are telling that deaths are happening due to Dengue. Even my child passed away at 6 am in the morning. He was seven years old. He had a fever from August 27. There are some children here who are ill, some are admitted to the hospital while some have died. There must be 30 cases of Dengue at least. No health workers, teams from the health department have visited here," told Salamuddin, a local resident on to IANS.

Another local resident named Khurshid said, "At least 12 have died from dengue. Deaths are being reported since August 25. Most of the deceased are children aged 3-12 years. There are children and some adults in every house of this village who are suffering from illness. No one from the health department visited this village earlier except for a few very recent visits. Everyone in the village is terrified."

While talking to IANS Naresh, the sarpanch of the village said, "It is due to contaminated water. Fever cases are being reported for the last 15 days or so. There are no malaria cases though. During testing in government hospitals, some dengue cases have been revealed. There are no healthcare centres in this village. Health teams have come here."

While the cause of deaths is unclear health officials are camping in a panchayat house to investigate it.  The team, comprising an epidemiologist, a science officer and health inspectors, is studying the pattern causing the deaths.