WHO Is Tracking India's Health?

The burden of mysterious ailments mounts in India as its disease surveillance system lies in a shambles

- Vibha Varshney

Early this year, just as governments across the world were scrambling to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (covid-19), healthcare practitioners in several rural pockets of India were fighting a similar battle—blindfolded. In Odisha’s tribal district of Malkangiri, panic gripped Kenduguda village after over a dozen people died within three months since the end of February. They were all in the age group of 15 to 35 years and complained of acute respiratory problems, fever, swollen legs and bloated stomach. Medical officers from the district hospital, who visited the village in early June, have failed to ascertain the reason behind the deaths and say the deceased could be suffering from either chronic kidney disease, anaemia, tuberculosis or heart ailments. Around the same time, the authorities of Karimganj district in Assam were thrown into confusion after six children in Bazaricherra village died one after the other. Though the reason is not known, media reports say that they had infected tonsils. A similar fear swept through Karnataka’s forested district of Dakshina Kannada, infamous for rare illnesses like viral haemorrhagic monkey fever or Kyasanur Forest Disease, in January after the residents of Venoor village complained of prolonged fever with fatigue, pain in the abdomen and headache. Medical officers rushed to Venoor to investigate the illness. Though it could be cured with symptomatic treatment, the authorities are yet to figure out what caused the fever and whether it will strike again.

These unidentified, mysterious diseases are like terrorists with unknown motives and unpredictable moves. They might lead to epidemics, creating a situation worse than covid-19 where scientists are at least familiar with the pathogen.