SOUTH Bihar is reeling under the attack
of mosquitoes. A malignant and drugresistant malaria has struck on an epidemic scale, particularly in the tribal
areas. According to unofficial estimates,
the disease claims nearly 10,000 lives
every year. No official statistics are available for 1995. According to C P Thakur,
professor emeritus at the Patna Medical
College, 50 per cent of malaria cases are of malignant malaria originating from
Thailand.
Malignant malaria attacks the red
blood corpuscles and the small capillaries of the brain. The symptoms of the
disease are similar to those of meningitis
which has led to confusion in its diagnosis. A large number of deaths are caused
either due to wrong diagnosis, lack of
treatment or drug failure. The patient
goes into coma and dies if the disease is
not treated early. In 1995, more than
20,000 people died of malaria, kala azar,
diarrhoea and jaundice.
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