Seven children have lost their lives and about 100 have fallen ill in some villages of the tribal community in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district in about 45 days, due to an outbreak of monsoon related diseases while suffering skin infections, officials said, even as they flagged lack of accessibility in remote areas and the community’s reliance on ritualistic healing.

According to officials, about five villages of the Baiga tribe have reported 100 cases of malaria, typhoid, viral infections and skin infections among children aged between one and 13 years since June, showing symptoms like high fever, stomach infection, and rashes and spots on their bodies.

The villages are Bondari, Adori, Machhurda, Korka and Kundekasa in Baihar tehsil, about 85 kilometres from the district hospital. 

Additional Collector, Balaghat, Abhishek Saraf told The Hindu that 24 children are currently under treatment at district and civil hospitals while 76 children have recovered so far. 

Officials say that the administration came to know about the problem after three children had already died, which prompted authorities to launch measures in the remotely located villages. The first death occurred on June 26 in Bondari village.

The authorities have also collected blood samples from patients and sent them to ICMR-National Institute of Research in Bacterial Infections, Kolkata, and the ICMR-National Institute of Virology, Pune, to check for the exact cause of the outbreak. Whereas, a team from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College, Jabalpur, is also investigating the situation.

Mr. Saraf said that special health camps have been setup in the villages to provide early treatment to children and door-to-door screenings are being conducted to check for new cases by deploying ASHA and ANM workers, and special medical teams for diseases like malaria and typhoid.

“We have deployed a team led by a medical officer for each village who will assess the situation and decide if a patient needs to be admitted to the civil or district hospital,” he said.

Mr. Saraf also said that officials have also been deployed to survey houses to collect water samples and assess hygiene conditions.

“They have also been directed to clean water bodies and ensure clean water in the affected areas,” he said.

The official, however, highlighted the challenges in tracing the affected children and as well as in convincing their families to accept the treatment.

The Baiga community, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), is known for its ancient practices and rituals, with members of the group often opting for faith healing over modern medicine. Largely located in forest covered districts of eastern and southern Madhya Pradesh, lack of accessibility and awareness also keeps a large section of the community still cut off from the administration and modern infrastructure. The five villages have houses scattered on different hills in dense forest. 

“While remote terrain was one problem in reaching the villages and tracing patients, convincing their families to admit their kids to hospitals was more difficult. Many families officials visited refused medicines too. But we have now connected with their spiritual leaders and are convincing the people with their help,” Mr. Saraf said, adding that the situation was now improving.

Balaghat Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Paresh Uplap said that various families have refused to go to hospital despite senior officials trying to convince them.

“There are about 15 houses atop a hill in Bondari village. The houses are cut off from the rest of the area and two children from a family died there about two weeks ago. The families did not inform anybody or seek help when they fell ill at night,” he said.

“We have deployed ambulances in some villages so that kids can be immediately shifted to the district hospital if needed. People from the community often reach out to faith healers when someone falls sick and think that they will go to hospital once the condition is a little better,” he said.

He said that multiple meetings have also been held with village heads and local people to convince them to take treatment.

Dr. Uplap also said that ANM and ASHA workers are also conducting surveys in all the hostels and schools in the area.

However, Amaar Singh Dhurve, a resident of Bondari who lost his two children, said that he had approached both doctors and faith healers in the nearby areas when his children fell ill.

“We don’t know any medication so I went everywhere but no vaidya or doctor ever comes here. We have gotten tired of calling. Even the villagers don’t come up here [on the hill]. At one point, all six members of my family were sick but there was nobody to take care of us. So, what could I do. I called faith healers and did jhhaad phoonk [ritualistic healing practice] myself too.

A government official also said that practices of animal sacrifice have also been reported from a village, conducted to get rid of the outbreak.