Gadag man, family isolated over suspected Nipah

Hubballi: Gangadhar Badiger, a carpenter in Mushigeri village of Ron taluk in Gadag district, is relieved that he has tested negative for Nipah virus. But the 52-year-old is yet to recover from the trauma caused by the villagers and relatives who totally isolated him and his family even as the tests were on.
Gangadhar’s case is an instance on how society over-reacts to an infectious disease due to lack of proper information.From the moment news spread that he is under observation for Nipah till the day it was ruled out, Gangadhar had to encounter with several unpleasant and inhuman experiences.
It all started with a common cold and fever he developed after he returned from Kudutai village, near Kozhikode district where Nipah outbreak was reported, in Kerala.
Gangadhar had purchased a tractor two years ago to make some extra income. He had gone to work at a factory in Kudutai last November with the tractor for work.
When he developed a “minor cold and fever”, Gangadhar returned to Mushigeri on May 21 and consulted Dr Parashuram Uppar, who asked him to take rest for at least three days. “I told my relative Mounesh Pattar about the fever. His son Prakash, who works at SDM Hospital in Ujire, to approach Dr Hadimani at the Primary Health Centre in neighboring Rajur village,” said Gangadhar.
Since Gangadhar has returned from Kerala, Dr Hadimani referred him to GIMS on May 22. Doctors there sent his blood sample for tests and asked him to wait for a day for results. “Trauma began on May 23 when I was shifted to a special room. As doctors wore masks and gloves while attending to me, other patients began to panic. Though the hospital staff was kind and assured me of recovery, rumours started doing rounds. Worried patients and their relatives stopped me from using the common toilets, which were the only ones I had access to. Though my fever had subsided by then, the behaviour of other patients traumatized me,” said Gangadhar.
Though he sought an immediate discharge, he was released only on May 25, after blood test reports from Pune said that Gangadhar had not contracted Nipah virus.
Meanwhile, the situation was no good at his village either. Gangadhar’s wife Sharada Badiger alleged that there was an “unofficial boycott by villagers”.
“No one was visiting our house. Whenever we went out, they had only one demand — that if my husband dies, we should not bring his body to the village. Relatives made enquiries over the phone. When a team of GIMS doctors visited our house, villagers appealed to them to move outside the village, fearing contracting the virus. I was in a state of shock and was not sure if my husband would come back alive. There was no one to console us,” she said. Gangadhar and Sharada have three children.
Gangadhar is absolutely fine now and has left for Kozhikode to bring his tractor back. “Rather than the infection itself, it was the people’s treatment that pained me. I feel it’s like a rebirth for me,” he said.
Sharanu Menasinakai, a resident of Mushigeri village, claimed that no one had any bad intention towards Badiger family. “They were afraid of contracting Nipah virus. There was panic over Nipah breakout. The state government must take steps to instil confidence in the people,” he said.
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“There was one suspected Nipah case, which proved negative after tests. But people should not lose their heart during such occasions. Rather, they should be confident and tolerant. If they find any minor ailment, they should immediately contact nearest primary health centre for preventive measures.”
Dr P S Bhusaraddi, director, GIMS, Gadag