(a) whether a number of dropsy cases have come to the notice of the government recently ;
(b) if so, the details thereof , state-wise ;
(c) whether State Governments have sought any assistance to deal with this menace; and
(d) wf so ,the concrete steps taken by the Union Government in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE (SHRI A. RAJA)
(a)&(b): The Government of M.P. has reported that consumption of mustard oil adulterated with argemone oil has led to around 347 dropsy cases from Shivpuri district and 133 cases from Sheopur district.
(c): The State Government requested for central assistance to diagnose whether these cases were of dropsy. A central team comprising of a clinician, epidemiologist and toxicologist visited the Districts of Shivpuri and Sheopur of Madhya Pradesh and confirmed that persons affected were suffering from dropsy.
(d): The Central team advised the State Government that Health workers should make house to house visits and pick up the patients who have shown dropsy symptoms in order to detect the cases and ensure their proper management and symptomatic treatment. They should also ban the sale of loose edible oil.
The team has reported that the Govt. of Madhya Pradesh has:
(i) Banned the sale of loose oil.
(ii) Management of cases is being done in the district hospitals and serious cases are referred to Medical College, Gwalior.