Tamenglong Under Scanner For Hepatitis B

Imphal, Apr 26 : The Manipur health services department is all set to hold a widespread Hepatitis B awareness programme in the remote Tamenglong district after nearly 30 persons from Noney and its surrounding areas in the district were tested positive for the disease.

During the programme, to be conducted immediately, family members of those who tested persons would also be tested. One girl reportedly died of Hepatitis B last month. The viral disease usually affects the liver.

Zeliangrong-dominated Tamenglong is one of the neglected districts of the state, particularly in healthcare.

Health department director Sh Shurchandra Sharma said the medical officer of the primary health centre at Noney reported last month that 16 persons from Noney and its surrounding areas were tested positive for Hepatitis B.

The department further collected blood samples from four of these 16 people and examined these at the state-run Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS) in the state capital on March 28 for further confirmation, which too tested positive, Sharma said in a statement.

On April 3, hordes of civil and anti-drug bodies - Zeliangrong Students Union, Manipur (ZSUM), All Manipur Anti Drug Association (Amada), Inpui Naga Students' Union (INSU) and two prominent private diagnostics units organized medical camps in Noney and Tupul villages. A specialist from the centre-run Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) here, JNIMS as well as chief medical officer, Tamenglong spoke in depth on the epidemic, the statement said.