Kolkata, 17 March (H.S.) -

The West Bengal government is taking special steps to ensure effective and affordable treatment for diseases like Scrub Typhus and Leptospirosis. To make diagnosis and treatment more accessible, the state's health department has decided to increase the number of nodal centers.

According to health department sources, a 12-year-old boy from Kolkata's Bagbazar area was recently admitted to a private hospital with severe respiratory distress and high fever. After conducting tests, doctors confirmed that he was suffering from Leptospirosis, an infection caused by exposure to rat urine. Due to the severity of his condition, he was placed on BiPAP support, then moved to a ventilator, and eventually put on ECMO. After an 11-day battle, the boy recovered and was discharged.

However, not everyone can afford private hospital treatment. Keeping this in mind, the government has decided to increase the number of nodal centers for diagnosing and treating Scrub Typhus and Leptospirosis patients across the state. Currently, Diamond Harbour Medical College serves as a nodal center, but with the rising number of cases, three more hospitals—SSKM Hospital, the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine, and North Bengal Medical College—will also be designated as nodal centers. The vice-principals of these hospitals will be responsible for overseeing these centers.

To strengthen testing facilities at these new nodal centers, the government has allocated ₹5.5 lakh in the current financial year. Of this, SSKM Hospital and the Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine will receive ₹1.9 lakh each, while North Bengal Medical College will receive ₹1.5 lakh.

Dr. Devdutta Halder, Assistant Professor at Diamond Harbour Medical College, stated that in 2022, sentinel centers were set up under the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) program. Both of these diseases are highly contagious and spread from animals to humans. People of all ages are at risk, so it is important to stay alert rather than panic. He advised that as soon as symptoms appear, individuals should immediately get a blood test done at a hospital.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh