Arunachal Pradesh Gov Failure : 11 children die of diarrhea in Tarap

Itanagar: 11 children died of diarrhea in a village under Lazo circle of Arunachal Pradesh’s Tarap district.

The ages of the dead children are between three and ten years.

The development was confirmed by the District Medical Officer (DMO) in-charge of Tarap in Arunachal Pradesh, Dr. Obang Teggu.
Confirming the outbreak of diarrhoea, he said the cases were reported ‘randomly’ over the past two weeks.

“Right now, the situation is under control,” the Tarp DMO added.

He said the use of contaminated water and open defecation, apparently from forests, bushes and nearby water bodies in the hilly areas – as most people in the scattered villages collected running water for their daily use – This may be the cause of its spread.
However, Dr Tuggo said the exact cause is yet to be ascertained, adding that faecal and water samples of the victims have been sent to a private facility in Arunachal Pradesh’s Khonsa and Assam’s Dibrugarh for further analysis. It has been sent for laboratory testing.
The DMO in-charge also said, “The villagers are not cooperating with the medical team and our department due to their superstitious belief that some evil spirit entered their village and spread disease in their village. This is the main reason why so many people have died.”

People should come to our hospital early in case of dehydration, diarrhea. But they are reluctant to come to the hospital… Stigma, superstitious beliefs prevent them from moving to health facilities for treatment,” said Dr Taggo, stressing the need to create awareness among villagers.