Nipah kills 4 Joypurhat kids
All of them took date juice and fell sick
Panic has gripped the residents of different villages in Khetlal and Sadar upazilas of Joypurhat district following death of four children infected with “Nipah virus” in three days from January 20 to January 22.
The dead are Anik Mondol, 7, son of Alam Mondol, Marium Begum, 7, daughter of Jahangir Hossain of Natunhaat Sardarpara in Joypurhat town, and Tohidul Islam, 8, son of Anwar Hossain of Dadra Jointigram, and Shakila Begum, 9, daughter of of Ikargara village in Khetlal upazila.
Anik died at Bogra Medical College and Hospital on January 20, Shakila at Joypur Sadar Hospital on January 21 and Marium and Tohidul at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital on January 22.
After blood sample test, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Dhaka, confirmed that the four children were infected with deadly 'Nipah virus', civil surgeon (CS) office sources said.
District CS office quoting the family members of the four said they took date juice and then fell sick. Symptoms were high fever and headache, they added.
Besides, two more children were admitted to Joypurhat Modern Hospital with high fever and headache in the last 48 hours until 10:00am yesterday. They are Sabbir Hossain, 3, son of Ujjal Hossain, and Suraiya Ayrin, 5, daughter of Ayub Ali of Natunhaat Sardarpara in Joypurhat town.
There are undergoing treatments at an isolated ward at the hospital.
The district health department through loudspeakers on Tuesday urged the people not to have date juice that is considered as food of bats, carriers of Nipah virus.
Two separate teams of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control Research (IEDCR) on Tuesday visited Joypurhat Modern
Hospital and collected blood samples of the two infected children.
They also visited the family members of Anik, Mariam, Touhidul and Shakila. Later, they collected stools of bats from some areas of the two upazilas.
While visiting Joypurhat municipality and Ikargara village of Khetlal upazila yesterday, local journalists found that the panic-stricken people had sent their children to safer places.
Rozi Begum of Sardarpara under Joypurhat municipality said she sent her 10- year-old daughter to Panchbibi upazila.
The district health department formed five medical teams for five upazilas of the district a set up monitoring cell, the civil Surgeon Md Mozammel Haque said.
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