Hundreds of villagers were seen in queue at Rokaya Medical Hall in Thatibazar for the checkup and vaccination willing to pay high fees for the services after rumor spread that the teacher Ananda Adhikari (35) allegedly died of Hepatitis B last month.[break]
Narabahadur Wali, a local of the VDC, informed that the school in the village has remained shut for 20 days now with all the students heading toward the district headquarters.
According to Laxman Khatri, another local who arrived at the headquarters for the medical checkup, complained that the private clinics and hospitals have been charging them exorbitant fees. The government provides vaccine for the disease only to the children below the age of one year.
Rokaya Medical Hall has been charging Rs 600 per vaccine and 300 for a blood test. Lok Prakash Rokaya, the proprietor of the Rokaya clinic, attributed the fear among locals to the fact that the treatment for Hepatitis B patients is available only in Kathmandu or in Lucknow in India.
However the Federation of Nepali Journalists district secretary Dependra Sharma expressed amazement at the indifference of the concerned authorities to look into the matter and dispel the fear among the locals.
Meanwhile, the District Health Office Chief Dr Bibek Kumar Lal has said that the blood testing going on at the clinic in the district headquarters was totally illegal. He stated that no one can provide medical services like blood tests or vaccination without approval from the health department.
Related story
Blood testing program organized on occasion of World Hepatitis...
