SHILLONG: Meghalaya’s Health and Family Welfare Minister A.L. Hek said that the occurrence of skin diseases in some areas of South West Garo Hills villages was due to unhygienic environment and lack of awareness in matters of health and sanitation.
He was replying to a call attention motion moved by Congress MLA, Azad Zaman on the skin diseases found in Mahendraganj in Meghalaya Legislative Assembly on Friday.
He informed he had visited Mahendraganj CHC and the neighbouring villages namely, Nandirchar and Kazipara on August 24, 2019 along with District Medical& Health Officer, South West Garo Hill and staff of Mahendraganj CHC and made some findings there.
As for the preventive measures, Hek said that Drugs, alone would not solve the health problems of these villagers unless health education was given to them.
He said, “To prevent further spread of these infectious skin diseases, community hearth educations should be given to the villagers. Improvement of environmental sanitation should be taught to prevent occurrence of such diseases in future. Self medication and over the counter drugs should be discouraged to avoid drug resistance and prevent relapse of skin diseases.”
Among the infectious skin diseases were fungal tinea Corporis and Cruris, Cutaneous Candidiasis, bacterial: Follicutis, Pyoderma and Itchmite : Scabies infestation.
He said that these diseases can be transmitted from one infected person to other healthy ones by direct physical, contact, by poor personal hygiene as well as byinfected animals to humans.
Among the non infectious skin disorders were Eczema, Miliaria, Polymorphic Light Eruption, intertrigo and Lichen Simplex Chronicus. These skin disorders arc non- communicable and are due to extreme heat, hypersensitivity to solar antigens as well intriinsic and extrinsic allergic factors.
The environment andsurroundings where the people live was found to be veryunhygienic with random disposal of waste materials here and there.
Hek went on to add that collection of dirty stagnant water ditches and pondsadjacent to their house and children were seen to be playing in the same stagnant pond.
There is also the issue of keeping of cattle near their dwelling which can greatly increase the chance of transmission of zoonotic skin diseases to humans.
“There was no drainage system for the household waste water. In some household, it was seen that the waste water is directly draining into the stagnant pond,” he said.
Zaman asked about the measures to eradicate the diseases and prevent its spread. After the Minister’s reply Zaman said that PHE department should examine the water.