The Indian media report on outbreak of smallpox in Bangladesh
Tuesday, 5 June 2007
The news published recently in a section of the Indian newspapers, mainly published from Kolkata, may be true or otherwise but its content-it's about sudden outbreak of smallpox in Bangladesh and Myanmar-is a scary one. Smallpox is an extremely infectious viral disease marked by high fever, pain, vomiting and eruption of red spots all over the body which later turn into blisters and contain pus. The Indian media report on smallpox in Bangladesh and Myanmar should not only cause serious concern in Bangladesh but also in other nations around the planet called Earth which in 1979 was declared smallpox-free after the successful completion of a serious vaccination campaign spearheaded by the World Health Organisation (WHO) against the disease.
Following the Indian media reports and smallpox alert issued by the West Bengal government in its districts bordering Bangladesh, the WHO country office in Bangladesh with the help of the local health workers has launched a vigorous mission to find out the veracity of the reports. The health workers of the Expanded Immunization Programme (EPI) have conducted house-to-to-house visits to the areas in Rajshahi and Teknaf which were mentioned in the said reports as smallpox-affected ones but until now they have found not a single case of smallpox that claimed some 300 to 500 million lives in the 20th century across the world.
Two diseases-smallpox and cholera-were the most feared ones in this part of the world until 197Os. The surviving old men and women would be able to bear it out how rural people helpless in the face of frequent outbreak of cholera and smallpox died in thousands virtually without any treatment. The development of effective antibiotics and the increased access of the rural population to safe drinking water have brought down the incidents of deaths due to cholera significantly and the worldwide vaccination drive by WHO had eliminated the scourge of smallpox from the face of the earth in the late 70s of last century. So any news about the return of a disease like smallpox should come as a rude shock for all concerned, particularly the WHO and health officials. Thank God, until now the Indian media reports have been proved wrong.
A section of the Indian print media, particularly those originating from West Bengal, for reasons best known to it, has always been hostile to Bangladesh. These newspapers do deliberately project negative aspects of Bangladesh. At times, they concoct stories to malign Bangladesh internationally. The reports about the outbreak of smallpox could be one of such stories. This also seems quite strange that the Bangladesh media which these days have their countrywide strong network could miss an important news such as the outbreak of a disease like smallpox. However, the authorities concerned and the WHO do need to continue their thorough search to find out the authenticity of the Indian media reports. In the event of detection of any case of smallpox, it would not be easy to face the disease readily. For, no country has in its possession the vaccine that proved highly effective against the virus responsible for causing the disease. However, the WHO laboratory, reportedly, still has the germ that would help it develop the vaccine again. The authorities would be required to promptly quarantine a patient, if found afflicted with smallpox, without any delay to help stop spread of the disease further. The Indian media reports, possibly, are based on rumours but the Bangladesh government and the WHO cannot just ignore such reports.
Following the Indian media reports and smallpox alert issued by the West Bengal government in its districts bordering Bangladesh, the WHO country office in Bangladesh with the help of the local health workers has launched a vigorous mission to find out the veracity of the reports. The health workers of the Expanded Immunization Programme (EPI) have conducted house-to-to-house visits to the areas in Rajshahi and Teknaf which were mentioned in the said reports as smallpox-affected ones but until now they have found not a single case of smallpox that claimed some 300 to 500 million lives in the 20th century across the world.
Two diseases-smallpox and cholera-were the most feared ones in this part of the world until 197Os. The surviving old men and women would be able to bear it out how rural people helpless in the face of frequent outbreak of cholera and smallpox died in thousands virtually without any treatment. The development of effective antibiotics and the increased access of the rural population to safe drinking water have brought down the incidents of deaths due to cholera significantly and the worldwide vaccination drive by WHO had eliminated the scourge of smallpox from the face of the earth in the late 70s of last century. So any news about the return of a disease like smallpox should come as a rude shock for all concerned, particularly the WHO and health officials. Thank God, until now the Indian media reports have been proved wrong.
A section of the Indian print media, particularly those originating from West Bengal, for reasons best known to it, has always been hostile to Bangladesh. These newspapers do deliberately project negative aspects of Bangladesh. At times, they concoct stories to malign Bangladesh internationally. The reports about the outbreak of smallpox could be one of such stories. This also seems quite strange that the Bangladesh media which these days have their countrywide strong network could miss an important news such as the outbreak of a disease like smallpox. However, the authorities concerned and the WHO do need to continue their thorough search to find out the authenticity of the Indian media reports. In the event of detection of any case of smallpox, it would not be easy to face the disease readily. For, no country has in its possession the vaccine that proved highly effective against the virus responsible for causing the disease. However, the WHO laboratory, reportedly, still has the germ that would help it develop the vaccine again. The authorities would be required to promptly quarantine a patient, if found afflicted with smallpox, without any delay to help stop spread of the disease further. The Indian media reports, possibly, are based on rumours but the Bangladesh government and the WHO cannot just ignore such reports.