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Infections, fever hit victims of crowded eidgah camp
New Delhi: A day after heavy rains lashed the national capital, cases of fungal infection, flu, cold and fever soared among riot victims living in a relief camp
New Delhi: A day after heavy rains lashed the national capital, cases of fungal infection, flu, cold and fever soared among riot victims living in a relief camp at north-east Delhi’s Mustafabad’s eidgah on Saturday. Doctors at the relief camp are now distributing hand sanitisers and surgical masks among them, in a bid to prevent possible cases of coronavirus reaching the already-prone camp. They said the diseases are spreading because people are living in ‘large groups’ with limited resources.
A medical camp set up inside the eidgah saw long queues throughout Saturday. Dr Waseem Qamar, head of the Doctors’ Unity Welfare Association — a local body of doctors — said at least 20 to 30 people with fungal infections have sought treatment every day since Thursday. “Fungal infections, including ringworms and rashes, are spreading among the people because they are wearing moist clothes and living in damp surroundings. Cases of flu, fever, cold and cough have also increased over the past two days. There is also an increase in the number of patients showing symptoms of food poisoning,” he said.
Doctors working at the camp on Saturday distributed hand sanitisers and masks to prevent further spread of infections. “Children, elderly and pregnant woman are more vulnerable. We are encouraging children to use hand sanitisers as frequently as possible. We are also telling people about the outbreak of coronavirus in the country. But it’s difficult to stop infections from spreading when so many people live together with limited resources,” said Ahsaan Saifi, another doctor at the campus.
Several residents at the camp said they were worried about the spread of diseases. Sameena, 37, whose family was displaced from riot-hit Shiv Vihar to the camp, said, “Although there is good medical help available here, we cannot avoid infections as all of us are sleeping under a tent and using the same toilets. My four-year-old son has fever and loose motion since yesterday.”
At present, there are three makeshift medical centres for around 1,000 residents who have taken refuge at the eidgah relief camp.
Though the relief camp has a mental health counselling set-up for children, it’s yet to get a similar facility for the adults. Qamar said many people at the camp have been struggling with anxiety and stress. “Many people are having post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Mostly women are complaining about anxiety and stress. Some people are also having phobias. They are afraid to step out of the eidgah. We have approached the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Science (IBHAS) to provide us with help for these people,” he said.
Nimesh Desai, director, IBHAS, also met people at the camp on Saturday. “We have planned to collaborate with four to five groups including NGOs working in mental health, school teachers, relief workers and primary health care providers to offer counselling and required psychological support to victims. We will sensitise and train these groups for which we have called a meeting on Sunday,” he said.
