Srinagar: Two children died of Hepatitis A in south Kashmir while four others are undergoing treatment, officials said on Sunday.
The six cases were detected in Turka Tachloo village of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, they said.
Hepatitis-A virus causes highly contagious liver infection.
“Samples of eight children from a private school were taken for suspected hepatitis disease, six of them came positive. So far two patients have died of the disease while four others are stable but undergoing treatment,” the officials said.
They said that of the two deceased children one was a girl, who was admitted in JVC Srinagar, where she passed away.
Officials said random sampling has been undertaken in the area and the Health department has so far taken 131 samples, out of which 84 samples have come negative, while others are still being processed.
The officials said teams of the Health department are monitoring the situation.
Director of Health Services (Kashmir) Dr Mushtaq Ahmad Rather also visited the area on Saturday along with a team of doctors, they said.
Water samples from the area have also been lifted and are being analysed, the officials said, adding that they have talked to Jal Shakti Department and asked to improve the quality of drinking water, which is being supplied to this village including the private school, where these cases were reported.
Dr Rafiq said that there is a wellness centre in the village and the health team is working on it to handle any situation.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) leader and former MLA Kulgam, Mohamad Yousuf Tarigami expressed serious concern over the outbreak of Hepatitis disease in Turka Tachloo and its adjoining areas in Yaripora, Behibagh of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district suspected to be caused due to untreated drinking water, and demanded immediate steps to control and prevent spread of the disease.
In a statement issued here today, Tarigami said that the filtration plants at Yaripora, Behibagh and Water Supply Schemes in the area constructed at a huge cost are either non-functional or partly functional.
He asked the administration to formulate a comprehensive contingency plan to curb the disease.
“Team of expert should be deputed to these areas to go deep into the causative agents which have resulted in the outbreak of this deadly disease,” he said.
