Bihar villages battle elephantiasis, kala azar & other neglected tropical diseases

Muzaffarpur: Climate change, which brings with it floods and droughts, is also leading to more mosquitoes and sandflies and therefore a spike in diseases such as lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, dengue and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) or kala azar. As the summer sets in, so does the threat of transmission of these diseases with the heat creating fertile breeding grounds for the vectors. “Climate change is fundamentally altering vector ecology, favouring the survival and reproduction of disease carrying vectors like mosquitoes and sandflies,” said Dr Bhupendra Tripathi, a New Delhi-based scientist.

“This phenomenon extends their range and boosts their population densities, thus expanding vector habitats. Consequently, previously unaffected regions are now susceptible to vector-borne diseases such as LF and VL, with instances emerging in places like Uttarakhand,” the MD and deputy director, Infectious Diseases and Vaccine Delivery, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, India Country Office.

Walking through the labyrinthine lanes of the village, Kusum Begum is tasked with not just distributing medicines to combat LF, a debilitating disease caused by parasitic worms transmitted to humans through infected mosquitoes, but also increasing awareness.“I tell the villagers that they must wear full sleeves clothes, sleep in mosquito nets and most importantly ensure that water doesn’t accumulate,” she said.

Bihar is likely to witness hotter summers and scantier rainfall in the next two decades. This may pose greater health risks with more severe heat waves and an “exponential” rise in vector-borne diseases, according to a recent report by the Department of Environment, Forest and Climate

Change (DEFCC).