PMO concerned over spread of Kala-azar in Bihar, 68 blocks affected

Dr K K Kaushik

Muzaffarpur : The PMO has expressed its concern over the spread of Kala-azar in several districts of Bihar including Muzaffarpur and has issued several directives to check it. PM Narendra has reviewed the situation himself. Four blocks of Muzaffarpur district : Paroo, Sahebganj, Saraiya and Motipur, are considered high risk zones as far as Kala-azar goes.

In fact, Paroo block  has been declared super sensitive to Kala-azar from where a single village had reported 250 cases of Kala-azar in 2015 and the state government had undertaken a special drive to combat the disease under the block. In January 2016, Paroo reported nine cases of Kala-azar while in January 2017, thirteen cases of Kala-azar were detected under the block. The PMO has got the list of Kala-azar sensitive blocks in the state from Bihar government in which Paroo figures as a high risk zone.

State Programme Officer, National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme, Dr M P Sharma said that on January 12, 2017, and again from February 2 to February 4, 2017, meetings in were held in Delhi to discuss ways to check Kala-azar in the country taking into account cases reported during last three years. The figures clearly indicated that 68 blocks of Bihar were affected by Kala-azar and PMO has been informed about it. The centre is monitoring the situation and likely to take special measures to combat the disease in Muzaffarpur and Saran, two North Bihar districts  severely affected by Kala-azar.