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EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
GANDHINAGAR/RAJKOT, Sept 16: One person died of dropsy and nine others, including four women, had to be hospitalised, as the dreaded disease created panic at Girgadhada village of Una taluka in Junagadh district on Wednesday last.
The disease is suspected to have been caused by consumption of adulterated edible oil. ``The Health Department has started gathering details to ascertain as to which brand of the edible oil was being consumed by the victims since the last two months. Besides, samples of edible oil will be collected from Junagadh district and other parts of the State as a precautionary measure,'' Health and Civil Supplies Minister Ashok Bhatt said here on Thursday.
The person who died of dropsy was identified as Laljibhai Visabhai (25), and the nine patients being treated at the Una Referal Hospital are: Nanuben Visabhai (20), Jadiben Visabhai (45), Visabhai Virabhai (50), Hansaben Babubhai (15), Naranbhai Babubhai (12), Manisha Babubhai (8), Kuluben Babubhai (35), Vipul Babubhai (7) and Babubhai Savabhai (37).
Giving details of the incident, Bhatt said as soon as he received information about the dropsy cases, he dispatched eight teams of medical officers to the village to conduct a house-to-house survey. The affected villagers were admitted to Una hospital where one of them died. The nine being treated at the hospital are recovering.
Additional Collector, Junagadh, Bipin Thakkar, who was part of the team that conducted a door-to-door survey said only one family in the entire village had been affected. He said the oil had been made at home and stored in a tin, where fungus developed.
According to adulteration expert and assistant director of Food and Drugs Laboratory, Junagadh, M Modi preliminary investigation reveals the disease may have been caused due to `fungus micilia' which forms over groundnut oil. However, a sample has been sent for testing.
Junagadh health officer R D Vyas too said only this family was afflicted by the disease. ``Actually the symptoms had been manifested about two months back. But instead of visiting a doctor, the youth approached a quack. Only when his health started deteriorating, he went to Irwin Hospital in Jamnagar and later the Una hospital,'' Vyas said.
Officials who conducted the survey said the youth who died had also been suffering from TB. Other family members are, however, recovering, they said.
Ashok Bhatt said besides a physician from Junagadh district hospital, Prof. Bankim Mankad, expert in dropsy treatment from B J Medical College and Dr Patel of State Food and Drugs Controller Department have been rushed to the village.
He said a special ward was created at the Una Referal Hospital, with all necessary medicines and drugs being made available for treatment. The Minister appealed to people to immediately contact the Una hospital in case dropsy cases were detected.
Last year, as many as 37 people had been affected by dropsy at Dhansura in North Gujarat, but timely treatment had saved their lives. The disease was caused by argemone content in adulterated edible oil consumed by them, Bhatt said.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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