At least four toddlers died and 22 more were admitted to the local hospital after they had been afflicted with an unknown disease since Tuesday in Tripura Para of Farhadabad under Hathazari upazila. The condition of three of the kids is critical, say doctors.

Among the deceased, three were from the same family. They were: Anna Roy Tripura, 6, Annabala Tripura, 4, Shamo Roy Tripura, 2, and Shimuli Chakma, 3.  

Confirming the death of four children, Dr Imtiaz Hossain, the upazila health officer, said: “One child died on Tuesday, two on Friday and one expired on Sunday. On being informed, we rushed to the remote village and 22 children were immediately taken to the hospital. They have been suffering from fever and malnutrition.”

“Fifty-two families, including 370 people, live in Tripura Para, which is a remote area. All of them are presently down with cough and fever. They have also been suffering from serious malnutrition,” he added.

Chattogram civil surgeon Dr Azizur Rahman Siddiqui told The Independent: “I heard about the death of four toddlers at Tripura Para. I know that 22 more kids have been admitted to the local health complex. We’re yet to confirm the disease. I’m going there with WHO representatives to probe the incident.”

In December 2017, nine children had died and over 50 were hospitalised at Tripura Para following the outbreak of an unknown disease. At that time, indigenous people  alleged that they were being deprived of basic amenities like healthcare, food, clean drinking water and sanitation. The area faces a severe drinking water crisis. Locals depend on brooks for water and face acute shortage of drinking water during the rainy season. There is no sanitation system in Tripura Para. Locals are not aware of the heathcare facilities offered by the government. They allege that government healthcare service providers never visit the area.