Serum samples of deaths sent to Institutes for analysis

Madurai, Oct 11 (UNI) Serum samples of the mysterious deaths confronting people in O Alangulam and Periyalangulam villages in Madurai district had been sent to various Institutes across the nation for clinical analysis today.

Talking to UNI here, A Palanisamy, Deputy Director of Health Services, said a team of microbiologists of Madurai Medical College have collected the serum samples and sent them to National Institute of Virology, Pune, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore and Madurai Medical College for clinical analysis to find out whether it was chickenpox or viral fever which affected the village.

Though it was suspected that it might be a viral fever, the exact position would be known only after a detailed investigation and once the results of serum analysis were available from the Institutes, he added.

Two young girls died of mysterious fever and blisters few days ago in O Alangulam village that sent shock waves among the residents of Madurai. The fever suspected to be an air-borne had affected most of the residents of the village.

The villagers confined themselves into their houses and followed the traditional system of applying neem paste on their bodies and tying neem leaves in front of their houses, instead of taking medical treatment, as they were advised by a local God woman not to go to the doctors for treatment. The disease then spread to Periyalangulam, a neighbouring village.

Dr Palanisamy said the situation is now under control and there were no fresh cases. A medical team has been camping in the village round-the-clock for monitoring the situation and also treating the people, he added.

Meanwhile, a high-level medical team, led by Saradha Suresh, Director of Institute of Child Health (ICH), Chennai visited the villages this afternoon to assess the situation, he said. The team conducted an epidemiological analysis of the blisters and also held a detailed investigation, Dr Palanisamy concluded.

UNI