'Mysterious' Disease Outbreak in Udaipur Tribal Village Leaves 17 Dead in a Month

A total of 17 people have died in the last month in a tribal village in Rajasthan leading to widespread concern about the outbreak of an epidemic.

While it is not certain whether the string of deaths in the Ghata Gram Panchayat in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district is due to some seasonal disease or some other cause, several villagers have attributed these deaths, mostly among children, to be due to some ‘mysterious disease’.

Among the 17 deaths, the latest being a child who died a day ago, 16 died after receiving treatment from unqualified practitioners. According to Sarpanch Nikaram Garasiya, the district administration has been informed about this grave epidemic.

The villagers said that immediate treatment for this specific fatal disease is not readily available. This has led to fear, especially among the sick, in the village.

When the district administration came to know about the serious nature of the disease, the medical department has set up medical camps in four villages of Ghata gram panchayat. Deputy Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Deepak Jain said that the medical department team from Kotra has also reached the location.

Jain said that patients are being treated through door-to-door visits adding that it is possible that these deaths may have occurred due to seasonal diseases. Jain said that the medical department is investigating the entire matter and more than 400 patients have been treated so far.

The victims are being treated in the presence of Deputy CMHO Deepak Jain and Kotra Block Chief Medical and Health Officer (BCMO) Shankarlal Chauhan. Meanwhile, all the unqualified practitioners in the area have disappeared. Many medical clinics have also shut down.

The locals are in fear and have pleaded for a swift resolution to the disease outbreak. The epidemic has also emerged as a challenge for the local administration with the health department making every possible effort to control the seasonal diseases.

It should be noted that in Rajasthan, seasonal diseases are most prevalent in Jaipur and Udaipur districts.