Kala-azar patients in the district are facing severe problems because of an acute shortage of medicines.

Urmila Devi (40), a resident of Goradih block in Bhagalpur, has been admitted to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital on April 26 following symptoms of kala-azar, but there is hardly any improvement yet.

Two other patients, Paltu Hembrom (21) and Jatha Hansdak (45), who were admitted to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital around one week ago for kala-azar, left the health hub on Wednesday. A staff nurse, who did not wish to be named, said the patients left the hospital because there was no medicine available for kala-azar.

She said: “The supply of Fungizone, a drug for kala-azar patients, is not available at the hospital. Therefore, patients were given Miltefosine, a substitute of Fungizone. Many patients, particularly the children, didn’t like this drug.” Sunita Devi, a resident of Madhepura and a mother of an infant, said her son could not consume the medicine (Miltefosine) and threw up.

Health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey on Wednesday admitted that because the supply of Fungizone has been stopped from the central government, the doctors at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital were asked to prescribe Miltefosine.

But, even Miltefosine was not available at the hospital till Tuesday. Meanwhile, Choubey claimed that supply of Miltefocine has been made available at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital and other government run hospitals from Wednesday.

Government claimed to have adopted measures, including providing remuneration to the rural health staff, to ensure that all kala-azar patients are admitted to government run hospitals.

R.K. Sinha, head of paediatric department at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital, said patients from Kosi, eastern Bihar are coming here for treatment.”