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North India Might Be Plagued
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Uttaranchal have been placed under quarantine |
By
IOL South Asia Correspondent
New
Delhi, Feb. 15 (IslamOnline) - Three deaths and over a dozen cases of what is
thought to be “pneumonic plague” have been detected in North India's Shimla
district. An alert has been sounded. Doctors at a Chandigarh hospital said today
that pathological tests have confirmed that a woman from Shimla district died of
plague yesterday.
The
affected areas in the state of Uttaranchal have been placed under quarantine.
Schools and other facilities in the area have been closed and people have been
asked to stay indoors. The central team, which toured the area, did not deny or
confirm plague. More tests are being carried out and a final result will be
announced early next week.
The
disease was first detected on February 2. All the patients belong to the age
group of 25-40 years and have fever, cough, chest pain, prostration and
haemotysis.
A person from the same area had earlier died on February 5. All the patients are
said to have contracted the disease after visiting the house of the first
victim. A report from Shimla, quoting the state health department, said that the
leave of all doctors in the district had been cancelled.
The
central government in Delhi has dispatched a stock of antibiotics, gloves and
disinfectants and another batch would follow Monday. A team of
experts from National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) Friday visited
the affected Hat Koti village in Shimla district. Another central team of
experts left Delhi today.
"As
of today, we cannot confirm the disease being as plague, although some of the
symptoms, which the patients have shown, resemble the disease. We are still
observing them and various tests are being conducted and the reports are
expected to be available only by Monday," an official of the Chandigarh
hospital, where most of the patients are being treated, told PTI. Reportedly the
first victim caught it during hunting in a forest.
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