Govt to launch fresh survey on fluorosis

The survey is being funded by the Science and Technology Cell of the Government and will be undertaken by a team based at the Post Graduate Department of Geology of Nagpur University here. The team is led by Dr A N Deshmukh, former head of the department. This team is already undertaking a major UNICEF-sponsored project on fluorosis in two villages of Chandrapur district.

The project gains importance in the backdrop of the recent cases of severe fluorosis in a village in Yavatmal district which caused major uproar in the region, leading the State Government come out with a special Rs 200 crore package for safe drinking water in tribal-dominated areas. More importantly, in an unprecedented move, the National Human Rights Commission, passed strictures against the Government asking it for a detailed report on the matter and threatening suo moto action if it failed to file the report.

Under the latest project, a detailed phase-wise survey would be carried out in the fluorosis endemic districts of the state. Apart from examining the gravity of the disease, the project will also study the roles of different factors in development and aggravation of the disease. The first phase of the project is set to commence shortly in the Gadchiroli district. Two districts are planned to be covered every two years under the project.

In a major variation from the earlier approaches, this time the survey would be conducted in a reverse pattern. The survey teams expect to gather the social and medical history of the victims, detect dental fluorosis among school-going children and finally conduct survey of drinking water in the area to measure its fluoride content, in that order. (Earlier, drinking water survey was carried on as the first step to identify the problem of fluorosis in any area. Medical diagnosis of the disease and survey of social parameters were conducted later.)

Armed with the data gathered, the team expects to come out with a binomial equation, which will be helpful in establishing relationship of different factors such as the per capita income of the family, the nutritional intake (mainly calcium supplementation), the working pattern and the average drinking water consumption, with affliction of fluorosis.

“Flouride content of the drinking water is not the absolute criteria for development of the disease. We want to establish this fact and identify positively the other factors that contribute to the disease,” Dr A N Deshmukh, chief co-ordinator of the project, said while speaking to The Indian Express today.

The final aim is to come out with scientific guidelines that will help the administration identify florosis endemic areas in the future. It is also expected to help them gauge the severity of the disease in the already identified areas so that suitable contingency plans could be drawn up.

It is now established that fluorosis is restricted to the rural areas where the populace does not have access to treated drinking water. Among the rural populace, the tribals are found to be more severely affected, pointing that economic status and dietery habits may have a major role to play.

Dr Deshmukh mentioned that majority of the fluorosis victims were found to have a very poor dietery intake, particularly with regards to calcium rich food (milk and other dairy products). Calcium is known to nullify the effect of fluoride in body, as it has the capability to absorb fluoride ions. Calcium supplementation — through calcium tablets or through calcium rich food — has thus been suggested as one of the corrective measures.

It is also known that fluorosis is restricted to a particular climate zone in the world — the areas with semi-arid tropical conditions. In these areas, the consumption of drinking water is high and the populace is thus more vulnerable to the disease as compared to their counterparts in colder areas with low consumption of water, though the fluoride content of water in both the areas may be same.

In all 48 villages in Gadchiroli districts have been identified for the survey. Questionnaires — aimed at collecting the socio-economic and medical history of the students would be send in advance to the schools in these villages. The next step would be a check-up of the students to record the cases of dental fluorosis. The other parts of the survey, involving measurement of fluoride content in drinking water, would follow.