the goan I network
VALPOI
The Kyasanur Forest disease virus (KFD) may have claimed some lives in Sattari taluka, but the disease and efforts to tackle it have had an unintended consequence for the people of Sattari.
A centre set up to combat KFD has also ended up facilitating the detection of another dreaded disease, thereby providing a double boon for people in Sattari taluka.
While virtually all government hospitals in North Goa do not have dengue testing kits, the Valpoi Community Health Centre (CHC) is an exception simply because the Manipal Virology Centre (MVC) which was set up at the CHC to test and treat KFD cases, also has facilities to conduct dengue tests.
The state government had permitted the Manipal Centre for Virus Research (MCVR) to set up its MVC at the Valpoi CHC after dozens of KFD cases were detected and some people had died of the disease.
“While the MVC has offered facilities to test KFD cases, it also provides tests for dengue, malaria, swine flu and other diseases, with over 500 tests being conducted so far,” said MVC incharge Akib Shaikh.
“This centre has become important for the people in Sattari and Bicholim talukas as it provides the facilities free of cost. We do not charge patients for the facilities as the MVC believes in a social cause. The MVC also succeeded in detecting rotavirus at Shelap in Nagargao panchayat in Sattari taluka,” Shaikh added.
