Notun Athithi

Last two days have been hectic,and the depression in Bay of bengal had a profound effect on the clime here,in as much we preferred to stay indoors with just essential shoppings..!There is sporadic Dengue and Mahabub passed away in IGMH( Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital ) in a short span.Dengue ,Chikungunya are endemic in some Islands and HFMD(Hand Foot & Mouth Disease) has a regular arrival and departure.
When I was in Laam Atoll in Hadhunmathi :Fonadhoo I was warned by MOH about a possible HFMD outbreak.The Pattern is Island after Island get affected, one by one, much akin to Locust invasion.The warning was in May2007 and our Island reported the first case in July the coxsakie virus knocked at our doorsteps after ravishing other nearby Atolls.We were geared and first week was panic in the populace for the virus mostly affected kids and I had cases literally everyday pouring with constitutional symptoms and otherwise just with ulcers of hand ,foot and mouth.For full two months we bravely faced the onslaught and finally the virus waned and invaded other Atolls.This was my first brush with an epidemic and successfully we warded of the challenge.
Those were the days when I & Archana used to regularly check little Doel's anatomy literally everyday.But the stringent aseptic precautions and quarantine I developed for my fledgling family kept us safe and No communicable Diseases ever touched us there.On the contrary little Doel never had a slight indisposition there and thoroughly explored the Islands and other Islands linked by causeways in our Mazda B323.
These sparsely habitated Islands at these latitudes are endemic for many diseases with high morbidity but low mortality.Hence this is the land for the General Practitioner who is nothing but a reverred King.....!!ably assisted by an efficient Health Care delivery system.