Serum samples of 'victims' of mysterious fever under scanner

Madurai, Oct 11 (UNI) Authorities today sent the serum samples of those affected by the mysterious fever in O Alangulam and Periyalangulam villages of this district to top medical institutions for clinical analysis.

Talking to UNI, Health Services Deputy Director A Palanisamy said a team of microbiologists of Madurai Medical College collected the samples and sent them to the National Institute of Virology in Pune, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore and Madurai Medical College for clinical analysis to find out the cause of the fever.

The exact cause could be determined only after detailed investigation and results of serum analysis were made available from the institutes, he added.

Two female children died of the mysterious fever and blisters a few days ago in O Alangulam village causing tension among the residents of the district.

Most of the residents were affected, forcing them to confine themselves to their homes and follow the traditional system of applying neem paste to their bodies and tying neem leaves before their houses instead of taking scientific medical treatment.

They had been reportedly advised by a local ''god woman'' not to go to the doctors for treatment which had spread to the neighbouring village of Periyalangulam.

Dr Palanisamy said the situation was now under control and no fresh cases had been reported. A medical team was camping in the village for round-the-clock monitoring of the situation and treating the people.

Meanwhile, a high-level medical team led by Institute of Child Health (ICH) Director Saradha Suresh visited the villages this afternoon to assess the situation.

The team conducted an epidemiological analysis of the blisters and held detailed investigations.

UNI