Jaundice
hits Panaji, spreads all over
Sandesh Prabhudesai
21 August 2003
Jaundice has hit Panaji, the capital city of Goa, admitting
around 175 patients of viral hepatitis in different government
and private hospitals here within a month.
The cause has been identified as the drinking water in the
city hotels and restaurants, which got contaminated due to
sewage water seeping into the drinking water pipeline.
Till date, the state has also reported two deaths due to
lever psoriases. But the authorities claim that these deaths
have caused due to other factors and not the spread of viral
hepatitis that has hit the tourist state.
Chief minister Manohar Parrikar has denied that it is an
epidemic. But the state health department has registered it
as a 'notifiable disease'. Private doctors as well as the
general public has thus been instructed to report all the
jaundice cases to the nearest health centre.
Health director confirmed that 33 cases of viral hepatitis
have also been reported in other parts of Goa, finding its
roots in Panaji when they visited the city hotels here.
Though the pipeline has been now identified and repaired,
the disease is spreading like wild fire in the state as people
from all over the state visit the state capital, to work in
the government offices as well as for their administrative
works.
The tourists visiting the state are also getting hit with
the disease as the pipeline is located in the central part
of Panaji, which has most of the small and big bars, restaurants
and cafes.
"I will not spare a single hotel or restaurant that
is found violating hygienic guidelines", said chief minister
Parrikar, who is also the Panaji legislator.
The City Corporation of Panaji has identified not less than
65 small and big restaurants, cafes and bars in the city with
various kind of unhygienic conditions. Open or dirty kitchens
as well as stinking toilets is a common feature.
The corporation has thus immediately shut down all the roadside
stalls selling bhel-puri and pav-bhaji while other hotels
and restaurants have also been given a seven-day deadline
to upgrade their establishments with all kind of hygienic
conditions.
The jaundice patients in the meanwhile are increasing every
day and the Goa Medical College hospital is finding shortage
of beds to accommodate them. Steps are thus also being taken
to increase the number of beds.
People visiting Panaji have been requested not to drink water
or food in the city hotels and instructions are also issued
to drink only boiled water at home. This has obviously caused
panic among the visitors while authorities are trying hard
to minimise the spread of the disease.
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