Munger: In parts of Bihar, the biggest concern seems to be an outbreak of cerebral malaria. The disease has already claimed 30 victims in Munger district.
The first case was reported a month ago, and now 1500 people are affected. The official death toll is six but locals claim more than 30 have died and the numbers seem set to spiral.
Now, huge crowds throng Munger's Sadar hospital to get a test for cerebral malaria.
"People are coming to us with high fever and headache. In a day or two, some of them start vomiting, and then become unconscious. We are trying our best to deal with the situation. We are sending teams across villages to collect samples, and are trying to accommodate as many patients here as possible," said R R Chowdhary , Block Medical Officer, Munger.
But in a state where the healthcare sector is not in a very good shape, even the best efforts by the government may not be enough.
So the Centre has sent eight doctors from the National Vector-borne Disease Control Programme. Their initial finding -- the Bihar government failed to spray DDT in the area on an emergency basis after detection of the first case.
However, the state government denies the charge.
"We have not been lax in any manner. In fact, to counter both Kalazar and Cerebral Malaria, we have carried out DDT spraying in many districts across Bihar. I have instructed that a special team from Patna also go to Munger to help control the spread of the disease there. After the rains, there will be another round of DDT spraying across the rains. We are trying to control the disease and isolate it," said Nand Kishore Yadav, Health Minister, Bihar.
The Bihar government's best efforts notwithstanding, the threat of the disease spreading beyond Munger is real.