Gaya: Ishwari Yadav, 55, can’t walk without a stick. He has been using a stick since he was 40. Without the stick, he says he would stumble and fall.
This is Pokharia village in Barachatti block, 60 km from the district headquarters in Gaya. Here, large swathes of the village population is afflicted with a serious disease, which, villagers claim, has affected residents since at least the last 4-5 decades. While the state health department has yet to identify the cause of this mysterious ailment, they believe it’s because the water in Pokharia is contaminated with high levels of fluoride.
When the ETV Bharat team reached Pokharia, they discovered 25-30 people of various ages in the village of roughly 500 people using walking sticks to stand or walk, with several others facing difficulties.
Now a hunchback due to the ailment, Ishwari Yadav said he had contracted the disease when he was 40 years old. “It started with my knees, and then slowly spread to my waist, spine, and then my neck. I can’t walk without a stick. If I try, I fall. Without a stick, my knees can’t bear the weight of my body,” said Yadav.
Shyamdev Yadav, who lives nearby, says he had to stop working in his youth because of the disease. Since then, he feels he doesn’t get the same respect at home as he used to when he earned a living. “I’ve become a hunchback since since I was 40 years old. Now a stick is my only support,” he laments, adding that no medical team has ever visited his village to date.
Another victim, Ramlal Yadav, says even women of the village are suffering from the disease, and that only those who are financially well-off have managed to get treatment in Gaya and Patna.
Pokharia Is Not The First Village In Gaya
A team of the Fluoride Mitigation Resource Centre in Patna carried out water testing in nearby Bhoktouri village in Tilaiya Panchayat of Banke Bazar block under Imamganj Assembly constituency, and found high levels of fluoride in the water there. Bhoktouri, too, has a high percentage of the population suffering from the same disease. But, say Pokharia villagers, no one has ever tested the water of their village, even though the health department believes Pokharia’s water is similarly contaminated.
When Rakesh Ranjan, the medical officer in-charge at the Community Health Centre in Barachatti, was asked about this, he said, “We are unaware that this type of disease exists in Pokharia. Now that the matter has come to our attention, a medical team will be sent there. This disease could be caused by excessive fluoride in the water. The people will receive proper treatment.”
The Barachatti Block Development Officer (BDO) made similar promises upon being alerted by the ETV Bharat team. “Now that we have received this information, we’ll take all necessary steps to provide relief to the affected people,” said the BDO, Abhishek Kumar Ashish.
Officials at the Fluoride Mitigation Resource Centre in Patna said fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally in groundwater. While a level of around 0.6 milligrams per litre of water is considered normal, it was 3 milligrams in Bhoktouri village.
The district health department said fluoride-contaminated drinking water causes three types of diseases. The first is dental fluorosis, in which the colour of the teeth changes, and spots and streaks appear. The second is skeletal fluorosis, in which bone development stops in the patient, causing muscle stiffness and joint pain. The third is non-skeletal fluorosis, in which the patient suffers from insomnia.
Mostly, skeletal fluorosis causes new bones to grow abnormally, and become crooked. This causes pain in the knees, waist, back, and neck. According to Medical Officer Rakesh Ranjan, people in Pokharia could be afflicted with non-skeletal fluorosis, which would need investigation before treatment can be offered.
According to doctors, t?o avoid fluorosis, people should exercise caution, and boil water before drinking. They should also maintain cleanliness, and change their diet to include foods that are rich in Vitamin C, E, and calcium. That means, eating more fruits, leafy vegetables, lentils, and sprouted grains.
Original article online at: https://www.etvbharat.com/en/health/gaya-district-pokhariya-village-people-suffering-from-hunchback-disease-enn25122402350