Minister feels disease most probably plague

PALLAVA BAGLA

NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 17: Union Health Minister Dr C.P. Thakur said today that though final reports are awaited, the possibility that the mysterious disease that has struck parts of Himachal Pradesh is pneumonic plague is ‘‘very high’’.

Addressing a press conference here, he said that the clinical symptoms were very similar to that of pneumonic plague. The disease had spread through exhaled infected droplets of patients and all those taken ill so far are either directly or indirectly related to the first case, he pointed out.

Thakur said it was now certain that it was a bacterial disease and not a viral disease since the patients were responding to antibiotics. Whether this is actually an outbreak of plague or not is not likely to be known by Wednesday when the NICD is expected to give its final report, he said. The preliminary report is expected tomorrow.

Thakur said that the region has had several outbreaks of plague in the past and circumstantial evidence that the lead case visited the forest for hunting rules out the possibility of biological warfare.

What is still unexplained is the fact that till date not a single case of bubonic plague — the flea and rodent-borne variety — has been reported and all cases have had symptoms similar to those of the highly-infectious and potent form of plague called pneumonic plague. Normally in a natural outbreak of plague, the bubonic variety of the disease precedes pneumonic plague.

A team of scientists from the Gwalior-based Defence Research and Development Establishment, is touring the affected region trying to establish the exact nature and origin of this disease which has so far claimed 3 lives.

Thakur also expressed happiness over the measures undertaken by local health authorities since no new cases have been reported. He is likely to visit the affected region on Tuesday.