NEW DELHI: The Government was warned about the possibility of plague epidemic five years ago and as late as February 1993 officials of all State governments were alerted to the danger.

In 1989, the Bangalore based Plague Surveillance Unit (PSU) the nodal agency for monitoring the dreaded disease in India had been reporting incidents of seropositivity to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).

Tests on rodents have been routinely conducted in three states known to be endemic to plague; Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kamataka. The first cases of seropositivity were noticed in 1989 when three rats tested positive to yersimia pestis, the plague bacillus. Four rats subsequently tested seropositive in 1990; 50 in 1991; 135 in 1992; and, 21 in 1993.

Subsequently, the alarming incidence of seropositivity in rodents had been discussed threadbare at every annual inter State plague coordination meeting. The minutes of the 17th inter State meeting held at House, in Tamil Nadu, on February 1213, 1993 clearly bear this out.

It is significant that along with Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra had been singled out as the other State where it was said that “the State governments should ensure permanent sanction of the plague control units in their respective areas so that work should go on without complacency.”

Other recommendations made after the last inter State meeting were that a new monitoring unit be set up in Himachal Pradesh; that the Haffkine Institute of Bombay should be requested to produce antigen indigenously; and, that serosurveillance in adjoining districts of endemic sylvatic plague foci in southern India should be intensified. Ironically, another recommendation was that the 1994 inter State plagues coordination meeting should be held in Maharashtra.

Reports add from Geneva: The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday offered to send an international expert if requested. A spokesman told newspersons; “The picture is still incomplete, and we are awaiting for official figures.”

Article extracted from this publication >>  September 30, 1994