A Lesson To Learn From History!

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The rain has started to pour down in monsoon. So is the spread of epidemics and other calamities. Every year our nation is flooded with the new epidemics. The scary disease that takes many lives for a couple years during the rainy season is chikungunya. So far there are recorded 99 cases of suspected chikungunya cases till June 26 in Karkala taluk and bordering Dakshina Kannada district. However the alarming fact is that there isn"t any master plan for prevention of the spread of chikungunya.

Chikungunya will assume alarming proportions if the disease is not tackled on war footing. However the Health Department was not ready to tackle the problem, as there was shortage of medicines at primary health centers. At this time it is apt to look into a similar incident that had happened almost more than a century ago in our same Karnataka.

In the centre of the picture is the British Resident M.F. Lovell holding the master plan along with an office servant on his left. To his right is Mr. Chengeri Srinivasa Rao the chief co-ordinator of the plan. The person standing by his bicycle is the District Medical Officer of Kolar, Dr. Rajaram Rao Cavale. There are other un-recognized persons like, the representative of the Maharaja, Police constables, health visitors and other British. representatives.

This is a lesson that our government has to learn from the history. In this technically advanced age, such a historical story is a true eye opener. The health department of our present age may take inspiration from this story and equip the affected area with latest broad-spectrum antibiotics to deal with fever of unknown origin common in the district during rainy season.