Who will tame kala-azar in Bihar?
Santosh Jha Patna, July 16 More than 1,000 deaths in the past decade and still politics looms large over the issue of kala-azar eradication and treatment. Half of the northern Bihar region is affected in epidemic proportions by the disease but the state government and the Centre are locked in a battle over whose responsibility it is to tame the giant killer. The Union Health Minister, Dr C.P. Thakur, an expert in kala-azar treatment, has ordered a probe into the state Health Minister, Mr Shakuni Chowdharys allegations that the drug supplied by the Centre to Bihar for kala-azar treatment was spurious that killed many. The state Drug Controller, Mr S.K. Sinha, said the sodium antimony gluconate (SAG) injections, a first line drug for the treatment of kala-azar were being manufactured by Chandigarh-based company, Toshika International Limited, and supplied to the state government by a Kolkata-based firm, Medical Depot Store. The drugs were released to the state malaria officers. The SAG i
