Rx: Keep cool

Panic over the disease is often as bad as the disease

Reports from interior Himachal Pradesh of deaths caused by a disease that appears to be plague have already caused widespread panic in the region and panic, as we all know, is a notoriously contagious condition. Yet, if there is one lesson to be drawn from this country’s biggest brush with a ‘‘plague epidemic’’ — Surat, September 1994 — it is the need to maintain calm and caution in situations like this. Let’s revisit that experience. Reports of some cases of bubonic plague first surfaced in Maharashtra’s Beed district in late August. Within days Surat reported an outbreak of the highly contagious pneumonic plague. As news of deaths spread, this prosperous Gujarat city all but shut down, with residents fleeing it in the thousands. In a month’s time, the fear of a plague epidemic had spread to several other cities, including the megapolises of Bombay and Delhi.

The consequences were unimaginable, not only did businesses shut down — the South Gujarat Chamber of Commerce put the daily losses in the state at close to Rs 200 crore — not only was there a grievous loss of livelihood for numerous migrant workers, India briefly figured on the map of nations best avoided. Yet, detailed epidemiological studies later proved that this was no plague epidemic. Indeed, it is not just societies like ours that have experienced the deleterious effects of public fear at a mass level, even the US, with its formidable health and communications infrastructure, and its almost totally literate society, had to struggle long and hard with the Anthrax scare and the fear of biological terrorism last year. It was only after several weeks did the issue disappear from TV screens and the front pages, along with which the reports of cases also miraculously subsided. Public panic, often fanned by ill-considered media reporting is, therefore, almost as dangerous as the disease because it detracts from attention being paid to the real problem, besides putting immense pressure on an already burdened health system.

This, of course, cannot be an argument for ignoring the disease or pretending that it does not exist. The fact is that the region reporting the recent cases is not exactly unfamiliar with the plague, having witnessed small-scale epidemics in the past. What should be ensured is the regular monitoring of communities living in the vulnerable zone and the prompt extension of medical care to those stricken by the disease. It is also of crucial import that the true nature of the disease that claimed these lives be established conclusively through rigorous testing. In the past, the plague was a sure killer and evoked universal dread. But the anxiety attacks of a medieval era must not be entertained in the age of antibiotics and accessible healthcare. And, if it is any consolation, there are positive aspects to even unhappy developments, as the Surat example demonstrated. The alarm set off by the experience provoked both the administration and citizens to clean up their act, as garbage collection was institutionalised and drains cleaned, people learnt the valuable lesson that if they do not keep their own backyard clean they may have to pay for it with their lives.