Children’s Death
Test results show pesticide poisoning
After testing biological and environmental samples taken from two villages of Dhamrai, Atlanta Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention of the US confirmed that pesticides caused the deaths of four children there in April and May.
The CDC in their report said they found organophosphate, one of the main poisonous raw materials widely used in pesticides, in the samples they tested, reported a private television Desh TV reports yesterday evening.
Following mysterious deaths of three children and 12 others becoming sick, an expert team of the health ministry collected biological and environmental samples from those villages and sent them to the Atlanta CDC for testing.
Organophosphate is used as the poison agent in 48 kinds of pesticides out of the registered 62 in the country. Quoting Health Minister AFM Ruhul Huq, the television reported that the government would take necessary steps to control the use of pesticides.
In April and May, four children died and 13 others survived after becoming sick in Naogakait and Malancha in Dhamrai upazila of Dhaka within 45 days, what the experts in their primary observation said due to the affect of pesticides.
All the children became sick with identical symptoms.
In a primary investigation, the government committee formed by the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) under the health ministry said all the children died due to poison and it could happen because of overuse of pesticides and lack of awareness among users.
The IEDCR’s primary investigation found quite a few examples of overuse of pesticides.
Earlier when The Daily Star correspondent visited Dhamrai, the agriculture officers said the farmers in Malancha and Naogakaith spray pesticides in amounts way more than what is safe.
Before dying, dogs and calves were bellowing and jerking heads, the IEDCR report reads.
The IEDCR has launched an awareness campaign against pesticides overuse in those two villages.
Picture: photographersdirect.com
