Andhra Pradesh village ostracised after news spreads of two swine flu deaths

VIJAYAWADA

: An entire village has been ostracised by people in neighbouring villages in

Krishna district

after a woman and a man died of suspected swine flu. The villagers were barred from using public transport and even school buses stopped plying to the village. The district administration swung into action on Sunday as the news went viral on social media.


Trouble began for the villagers of Chintakolla in Koduru mandal here, about 70 km from Vijayawada, after two people died in quick succession allegedly due to swine flu. First, a young woman succumbed to the infectious disease. A few days later, a 43-year-old man suffered cardiac arrest and passed away. He was reportedly suffering from swine flu. The death occurred on December 5, but as rumours of highly infectious swine flu circulating in the village spread thick and fast, people in neighbouring villages stopped talking to villagers in Chintakollu.

Though the social boycott began on December 6, it came to light only on Sunday. People from Chintakollu were barred from utilising public transport service including autorickshaws. Schoolchildren were also stopped from boarding school buses.

Officials said the 43-year-old man had compromised immunity and the swine flu infection had further aggravated his condition. He died while receiving treatment in a hospital. According to district medical officers, the man was first admitted to

Guntur

Government General Hospital on November 29 and against medical advice, left the hospital and got admitted in a private hospital at Autonagar in Vijayawada, where he died of cardiac arrest.

A few days ago, a woman from the same village died with symptoms of swine flu. Given that two deaths had occurred in the village in a short span of time, rumours spread to nearby villages that swine flu has turned virulent.

The villages surrounding Chintakollu boycotted them. They did not allow them to do their daily businesses outside the village. Basic necessities like supply of milk, water and other essential commodities were also stopped to Chintakollu.

Schools too allegedly asked the students in Chintakollu to not attend classes. Chintakollu residents were also barred to enter hotels and restaurants.

A medical camp was set up in the village last week and no fresh cases of swine flu were reported. Three fever cases were reported in the last four days during a door-to-door surveillance. A massive awareness campaign was launched in the villages of Koduru mandal.

As rumours were spreading to other villages, Krishna district collector B Lakshmikantham intervened and announced that there was no threat of swine flu. Public address system was being used to allay the fears, he said.

The collector added that water tankers were being sent to the village as part of primary rescue action and a special medical camp was initiated in the village. He warned of strict action against people boycotting the villagers and causing inconvenience to them.

More awareness programmes were on and preventive Homoeopathic medicines were being supplied to the villages to restore normalcy. The collector assured that continuous monitoring would be done to ensure no untoward incidents took place.

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