Schools declared holiday for children from Chintakollu after rumours of swine flu deaths
A village in Andhra Pradesh is facing social boycott over rumours of two people dying of swine flu. Local doctors have clarified that the two deaths were not due to swine flu and their test results were negative but that does not seem to convince the people in the neighbouring villages.
"The deaths were due to cardiac arrest. We have examined and found no symptoms of swine flu. We will make public announcements on the microphone to allay the fears of the villagers,'' a doctor told NDTV.
Namcharayya, 45, and Mariamma, 32, died at Chintakollu in Krishna district about a week ago and soon after rumour spread that they had caught the deadly flu. No one from Chintakollu is being allowed to enter neighbouring villages and neither is anyone visiting the village.
Residents allege that they are being forced to get off the buses, school buses are not picking up children, milkmen are not delivering milk and even there was water shortage in Chiltakollu, until the collector sent tankers.
"We are not going to school. No bus is coming. The principal has declared holiday for us,'' a schoolboy told NDTV.
The district collector has reviewed the situation and has sent a medical team to check and clear the doubts of the villagers in the neighbourhood. Action will be taken if people still boycott the village said an officer in the district administration.
Several people died of swine flu in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in October, when there was a spike in the number of cases. Most of the deaths were reported in Andhra Pradesh with Kurnool, Chittoor and the temple town of Tirupati being the worst-affected. Screening and testing centres were set up at railway stations, bus stands and the Visakhapatnam airport.