7 deaths reported

NEW DELHI, August 30: Epidemic dropsy claimed seven more lives in the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 34, even as 161 fresh admissions ...

NEW DELHI, August 30: Epidemic dropsy claimed seven more lives in the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 34, even as 161 fresh admissions were reported at city hospitals.

The latest casualties have been reported from DDU, St Stephen8217;s, ESI, GTB, RML and Safdarjung Hospitals. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police registered 15 cases against the oil traders in the city for selling and storing adulterated mustered oil. No further arrests were, however, made since yesterday.

The government has summoned a meeting of the health secretaries of all the states affected with epidemic dropsy to chalk out a strategy to control the menace.

Health ministry officials said at least 400 persons with symptoms thronged the hospitals for treatment, though most were sent back after the necessary medication. West Delhi continues to be the worst affected area as the maximum number of patients came to the DDU Hospital today as well, closely followed by Safdarjung.

During their survey of shops all over the city, 27 teams headed by sub-divisional magistrates SDMs checked 1,400 oil mills, depots and shops and sealed six of them on suspicion. Of the 245 samples of mustered oil collected by the teams, 52 were found to be adulterated.

The police has intensified searches in the jhuggi clusters to identify the sources of oil being used by their inhabitants. A party has been sent to Rajasthan as well after the source of one of the consignments of adulterated was traced there.

Incidentally, it is not for the first time that the disease has reared its ugly head. It first struck the country in 1953 at Nanded, the then Central province. After that it let loose terror in 1977 in West Bengal and in 1983 in Madhya Pradesh. Each time it took many lives and paralysed thousands. The disease is caused by adulteration of mustard oil with agremone oil and has no cure.

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The agremone oil is taken from seeds of the poisonous Mexican poppy plant agremone mexicana, known as sial kanta in the eastern parts of the country and pila dhatura in the northern parts.

The entire Mexican poppy plant and its seeds are poisonous and could prove fatal on consumption. It causes weakness, bleeding and diarrhoea leading to death. Clinical reports show that a lethal dose is nearly 20 gm per kg of body weight average human body weight is 50 kg in India. One kg of adulterated oil can cause death, say experts.

In India, the per day average consumption of edible oil among affluent people is nearly 110 to 115 gm and 75 to 80 gm in the case of the poor. It would take nearly ten days for the rich people to reach the fatal stage and 13 to 16 days for the poor.