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| In the glare |
Bokaro, Nov. 30: Eighty-one of the total 222 students of state-run Kasturba Gandhi Residential School in Chandankyari have been sent home after what appeared to be an outbreak of some contagious viral disease like measles or chicken pox.
A team of doctors rushed to the school has, however, confirmed only three cases of measles and some 60 of scabies, a skin infection commonly known as seven-year itch and caused by a tiny parasite, among the remaining students.
According to warden Kumari Nibha, some dozen girls of Classes VI, VII and VIII complained of body rashes three days ago. Suspecting measles, she called a local homeopathic doctor. However, his medicines did not improve the situation and more and more girls got infected. Fearing chicken pox this time, she started sending the children home since yesterday. A report was also sent to district superintendent of education (DSE) S.K. Sah.
Civil surgeon Dr Mithilesh Kumar said he received an SOS from the DSE last evening and rushed a medical team of three doctors to the Chandankyari school this morning.
By the time the doctors reached the school, 81 students had been sent home. The remaining girls were thoroughly examined and three were found to have contracted measles. “Many of the others have scabies,” Kumar said, adding that huge quantity of anti-scabies drugs had been provided to the school.
Though such an outbreak of scabies raises questions on the cleanliness of the school premises, doctors said the first victim might have contracted the disease elsewhere.
Speaking to The Telegraph, attending doctor Suresh Prasad Sinha said scabies was contagious and could spread through direct skin contact or use of objects such as clothes, towels, bedsheet etc. of an infected person. “If medicines are not administered on time, the itching can turn painful, which has been the case at this school,” he said, adding that this led to rumours of a chicken pox or measles outbreak.
The civil surgeon said all necessary measures were being taken to control the situation.
