4 children among 12 die of pneumonitis in Gujarat
PTC News Desk: Twelve people have died in Lakhpat taluka in Gujarat's Kutch district, including four children under the age of 12, days after the region was devastated by severe rains. According to officials, the main cause of death appears to be pneumonitis.
Some local district panchayat members, however, said that doctors had been unable to properly diagnose the fever, which was also causing difficulty in breathing.
Medical services in the taluka, which is near the Pakistan border, have been stepped up with the deployment of 22 surveillance teams and doctors, as well as the samples of resident samples to rule out the possibility of H1N1, swine flu, Crimean-Congo fever, malaria, and dengue, according to Kutch Collector Amit Arora.
"Pneumonitis appears to be the main cause of the deaths. It does not appear to be a contamination or a communicable disease. 22 health department teams are working in the affected districts, including those on deputation from two community health centres and fast response teams from Rajkot PDU Medical College," he said.
Meenaba Jadeja, a Kutch district panchayat member, stated in a letter to Gujarat Congress head Shaktisinh Gohil that 12 people aged 5 to 50 died from fever in Bekhada, Sanandro, Morgar, and Bharavandh villages in Lakhpat taluka between September 3 and 9.
- With inputs from agencies
