Tuesday's national news section of The Daily Star was veritably a disease and epidemic page. The headlines would convince anyone: Hydrophobia kills 15 in Rajshahi, 11 die of dysentery (in Pabna). chicken pox breaks out alarmingly in MoulMbazar. Is it a case of strange coincidence. or is the country indeed very widely diseased, physically?
Why should there be so much hydrophobia cases before the setting of its traditional season Bhadra ? The news report says that on an average there are 200 cases of dog-biting in the Rajshahi district. Before we have done with our bit wondering. dismay takes over when we hear that at present there are no anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) available either in the open market or with the hospitals. The only manufacturers of the vaccine, the Public Health Institute, is itself a diseased set up on the verge of closure. Some courses of vaccine are being imported from India but the quantity cannot meet even partially the district's demand, not to think of how the nation's demand would be met.
One thought that worries about hydrophobia had long been buried thanks to the good work of Louis Pasteur. That it should come back with such virulence to Bangladesh simply baffles our comprehension. We must have a goodly supply of ARV always at hand.
This is Incredible that in only two unions of Pabna district 11 persons should die of blood dysenteiy and. of all things, measles in the short span of a single week. The civil surgeon has said tnat nine medical teams are working in the unions to contain the toll. The reason of the death surge has been ascribed to shortage of pure drinking water. The myth of tubewells taking care of tne population's total need of potable water Is taking a beating with every gastroenteric death and we do not hear of a fresh go at strewing Bangladesh with tubewells up to the saturation point. One big problem with the tubewells has been lack of maintenance. This has to be ensured through social initiative for which motivation and leadership are essential.
About 500 people in Sherpur and 200 in Moulivibazar districts have been attacked with chicken pox. There is no curative treatment for the disease available and quacks are making a heyday of the suffering of the people.
The above are only a casual and random glimpse at our health situation. If the government Is proving not quite a match to the challenge why is the 'market' approach to medicine ana medical practice also failing? Where are the products of six medical colleges going? At the root of It all there seems to be organisational and distributive problems. We are badly In need of people who truly care. We need men and women of dedication and vision to come out of this situation.