Many residents living in the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) headquarters of Laiza Township have been afflicted with Typhoid. The disease is said to be spreading.

With the onset of the monsoons in mid-June many were afflicted by Typhoid. All residents in some quarters of Laiza city are susceptible, said a doctor at the KIO-run Laiza Public Hospital.

“Seven to eight patients out of every 10 admitted to the hospital are suffering from Typhoid,” said the doctor.

Laiza residents are known to use a chemical fertilizer in fields and plantations. The liquid run-off from the chemical fertilizer flows to the main drinking water sources. Besides, people are eating chemical contaminated vegetables causing illness like Typhoid, the doctor added.

The disease has assumed serious proportions in Laiza city, infecting students of Primary, Middle and High School, said a resident.  A Christian missionary school is being closed to check the infection.

In Laiza hospital, there are currently more than 150 patients with Typhoid but the treatment is inadequate given the lack of facilities.

“It may not be from water because now it is the rainy season. The main reason for the spread of the disease is because of consumption of chemical contaminated vegetable exported from China. They look fresh and good and are cheap so people buy and eat it,” said a Laiza resident.

Laiza city, the headquarters of KIO. Photo: Kachin News Group

The disease is also spreading in main cities like Myitkyina and Bhamo, also Manmaw in Kachin State.

Doctors from Laiza hospital are observing patients and seeking advice from Mainland China for the treatment of Typhoid as the disease is prevalent in China and on the increase.

Since 2008 Typhoid affliction has been in evidence in Laiza. This year the number of patients suffering from the disease has doubled, said sources in Laiza hospital.