Alappuzha, November 8: Nobody goes to Mulakkuzha and Kulanada, two gram panchayats on the Alappuzha-Pathanamthitta border in Kerela, any more. These panchayats are under the spell of the as-dreaded-as-AIDS Hepatitis-B, and villagers from neighbouring panchyats are staying away for fear of falling ill themselves.In fact, a marriage that was to be solemnised on Tuesday was broken, after the groom's family told the bride's parents that they did not want a marriage from this part because of the fast spreading disease.Residents say more than 200 people have been affected. Health authorities, though, downplay the incidence and peg the number of affected at a measly 20. But this reporter alone met nearly 50 infected persons. Krishnan, a resident of Kulanada, said his mother, wife and brother's wife were all suffering from the disease.Medical experts who visited the affected panchayats blame contaminated blood for the spread of the disease, with blood transfusion as a possible carrier. But the Kulanada gram panchayat's president, Dolly Jose Kambarathil, said the panchayat simply couldn't afford to collect blood samples of all residents for testing.Only the government could conduct testing on this scale, she said. Health authorities have been alerted about the disease, she added. An eight-member medical team from Alappuzha also visited Mulakkuzha.Reports from a private laboratory in Chengannur say cases have been detected in Peringala area under the Mulakkuzha gram panchayat over the past one year. Blood samples at the laboratory detected more than 40 infected persons a month.
