100 kids die of measles
2004-04-21 09:19
New Delhi - More than 100 children died of measles in a central Indian district over the past few days as their superstitious parents refused to give them medicine, it was reported on Wednesday.
"My son was ill. Villagers told me not to take him to a doctor but leave him at the mercy of the goddess. When his condition became serious, we took him to a doctor but he died on the way back," said Chaturbhuj, a resident of Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh state, whose eight-year-old son died.
Adding to the villagers' problems are poor medical facilities in the area, New Delhi Television reported. Some villagers claimed 300 children had died. A team of doctors has arrived in Shivpuri to investigate.
The situation is common in most of rural India, where the health care system is almost non-existent. People have to travel for hours, sometimes days, to reach a dispensary or hospital. Often when they arrive there is no doctor to treat them or no medications available.
"Doctors or nurses are never available in our local health department. Those who can afford it, take their children to big towns. Those who cannot, are left to die," said one villager. - Sapa-dpa
- SAPA