Re: dear rakesh,Dr Bashaar

[Guest guest]

Dear Dr. Santosh,

First up, thanks for the information.

you asked very interesting question, obviously every disaster and epidemi have it is own drawbacks and challanges behind.

For the time being we havn't such consolidated data in our hands, which shows sociio-economic problems due to gulran disease.

Hopefully WFP and other organizations provided seeds and wheat to affected populations

Best Regards

Bashaar

Best Regards

Mohammad Bashaar

From: drsantosh74 <drsantosh74@...>Subject: dear rakesh,Dr Bashaarnetrum Date: Friday, July 4, 2008, 7:30 PM

Thank you for providing us with the valuable information from India.I would like to request Dr.Bashaar to provide us the impact of Gulrans on Afghan health status and its economyDR.Santosh> >>> >> From: sanjay choudhari <sanjaych7 (DOT) co.in>> >> Subject: camelbelly disease> >> netrumgroups (DOT) com> >> Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2008, 7:13 PM> >>> >> status in INDIA> >> In kusmi block of SARGUJA district in MP ,during 1973 and again

during> >> 1976 ,an outbreak of rapidly devoloping ascites and jaundice ws reported> >> among the Nagesia Tribals known as ENDEMIC ASCITES.> >> Age - All age groups involved except infants> >> Sex - Both sexes equally> >> Etiology - As per study conducted by National institute of nutrition> >> ,Hyderabad-- local population subsist on millet PANICUM MILIARE (locally> >> known as GONDHLI) which gets contaminated with weed seeds of CROTALARIA> >> (locally known as JHUNJHUNIA )> >> Chemical analysis of Jhunjhunia found to contain PYRROLIZIDINE alkaloids> >> which are hepatotoxins .> >> Preventive measures--> >> -- Educating the people in affected areas about the disese> >> --Deweeding of Jhunjhunia plants which grow along with staple> >> -- Simple sieving

of millet at the household level to remove the> >> seeds of jhunjhunia which are smaller than those of the millet> >>> >> ------------ --------- ---------> >> Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have it.<http://in.rd. / tagline_groups_ 1/*http:/ /in.promos. /groups/bestofyah oo/>> >>> >>> >>> >> ------------ --------- ---------> >> From Chandigarh to Chennai - find friends all over India. Click here.<http://in.rd. / tagline_groups_ 10/*http: //in.promos. /groups/ citygroups/ >> >>> >>> >> >

>>> >> >>

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

The Afghan Red Crescent Society received $14,000 to purchase new wheat to replace suspect supplies in the district as a precautionary measure, said Graziella Leite Piccolo, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Kabul.

Health

Italy pledges $300,000 to fight Afghan diseaseSource: Reuters KABUL, May 22 – Italy’s government has pledged $300,000 to help combat a disease outbreak in western Afghanistan that has killed 17 people since February, the Afghan Health Ministry said in a statement on 22 May. The disease, which broke out in the district of Gulran in February, is a veno-occlusive disease caused by a toxic alkaloid contained in the seeds of heliotropium, an invasive plant that spreads among wheat cultivations, the Healthy Ministry said.

WHO confirms 'charmak' disease in Herat ProvinceKABUL, 15 May 2008 (IRIN) - Confirmed cases of hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) - also known as "camel belly" or 'charmak' disease - in Gulran District of Herat Province, western Afghanistan, have surpassed 190, and 17 people have died so far, provincial health officials said. Citing the result of tests at the National Institute for Public Health in the Netherlands, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said the disease was caused by exposure to pyrrolizidine alkaloids found in 'charmak', a poisonous weed believed to be growing mostly in grain fields in Gulran District, and which often finds its way into locally produced wheat flour. According to WHO, regular consumption of bread contaminated by alkaloids contained in the weed can cause rapidly filling ascites (also known as peritoneal cavity fluid, peritoneal fluid excess,

hydroperitoneum or abdominal dropsy) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascites], severe abdominal pain, vomiting and jaundice. "VOD of the liver is a form of toxic liver damage caused by pyrrolizidine alkaloids," WHO said. The outbreak of 'charmak' disease was first reported in November 2007. Of the 17 deaths six were men, six were women and five children, according to Herat's public health department. "Thirty eight other patients are currently under medical testing which will determine whether or not they have 'charmak' disease," Aziz Noorzai, the head of Gulran hospital, told IRIN on the phone on 14 May. "No magic pill" Until early May local health officials did not know what medication should be given to 'charmak' patients to cure their illness. Medical experts now say - based on the Netherlands test results - that two grams of sodium in the daily diet, the use of vitamin and mineral supplements, and the

extraction of unnecessary liquids from a patient's swollen belly in serious cases, can save lives and treat the disease, according to Rana Graber Kakar, a WHO expert in Kabul. "There is no magic pill for it," said Kakar, adding that technical research and studies were under way to illuminate characteristics of the disease and help the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to overcome similar challenges in future. Rest is also recommended for long-term recovery, she said. Food aid distributed In an effort to curb the outbreak, the MoPH has launched a public awareness campaign in Gulran District through which people are encouraged to stop consuming locally produced flour. But the drive has been received coldly by most of Gulran's poor populace. "When we tell them not to eat Gulran flour, they ask what they should eat instead," said Noorzai. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it had distributed 700

tones of mixed food items to about 55,000 people in Gulran under food-for-work and education incentive schemes, and a further 860 tonnes would be distributed to 24,000 people in the near future. An Italian Provincial Reconstruction Team has also delivered food and non-food relief items to vulnerable families, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said in a statement on 28 April. Improved wheat cultivation needed 'Charmak' has appeared at least three times in the past 50 years - always in Herat Province - and had affected hundreds of people each time, according to local officials. Health experts said the disease cannot be prevented through medical measures only, but that improvements in wheat cultivation, harvesting, threshing and milling - and enabling farmers to eliminate poisonous weeds in their fields - would help avert future outbreaks. "In the long-term, the government needs to focus on

agricultural policies that will reduce contamination of grain with Heliotropium ['charmac'] weeds," the WHO said in a weekly epidemiological monitor on 11 May.

http://www.afghanistannewscenter.com/news/2008/may/may152008.html

-Anupama

From: drsantosh74 <drsantosh74@...>Subject: dear rakesh,Dr Bashaarnetrum Date: Friday, 4 July, 2008, 8:30 PM

Thank you for providing us with the valuable information from India.I would like to request Dr.Bashaar to provide us the impact of Gulrans on Afghan health status and its economyDR.Santosh> >>> >> From: sanjay choudhari <sanjaych7 (DOT) co.in>> >> Subject: camelbelly disease> >> netrumgroups (DOT) com> >> Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2008, 7:13 PM> >>> >> status in INDIA> >> In kusmi block of SARGUJA district in MP ,during 1973 and again

during> >> 1976 ,an outbreak of rapidly devoloping ascites and jaundice ws reported> >> among the Nagesia Tribals known as ENDEMIC ASCITES.> >> Age - All age groups involved except infants> >> Sex - Both sexes equally> >> Etiology - As per study conducted by National institute of nutrition> >> ,Hyderabad-- local population subsist on millet PANICUM MILIARE (locally> >> known as GONDHLI) which gets contaminated with weed seeds of CROTALARIA> >> (locally known as JHUNJHUNIA )> >> Chemical analysis of Jhunjhunia found to contain PYRROLIZIDINE alkaloids> >> which are hepatotoxins .> >> Preventive measures--> >> -- Educating the people in affected areas about the disese> >> --Deweeding of Jhunjhunia plants which grow along with staple> >> -- Simple sieving

of millet at the household level to remove the> >> seeds of jhunjhunia which are smaller than those of the millet> >>> >> ------------ --------- ---------> >> Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have it.<http://in.rd. / tagline_groups_ 1/*http:/ /in.promos. /groups/bestofyah oo/>> >>> >>> >>> >> ------------ --------- ---------> >> From Chandigarh to Chennai - find friends all over India. Click here.<http://in.rd. / tagline_groups_ 10/*http: //in.promos. /groups/ citygroups/ >> >>> >>> >> >

>>> >> >>

From Chandigarh to Chennai - find friends all over India. Click here.

[Guest guest]

Dear Dr. Anumpama,

thanks for the aid reports. the gulran district recieved more of the aid (wheat) in order to prevent the dissmination and spread of the disease.

please read the report for more information:

KABUL, Afghanistan - ISAF’s Italian PRT delivered aid to the population of Gulran District in Herat province recently to help alleviate suffering by locals affected by Gulran Disease.

Nearly 100 locals there suffer from an illness called Gulran Disease, described by local doctors as a disease affecting the liver that may occur after ingestion of certain plant alkaloids. It has been present in the district since 1970, and periodically is brought on during the harvest season.

ISAF responded with military and civilian support to a request for assistance from the Provincial Health Department chief.

While a team is working to find and deliver an adequate combination of medicines to cure the disease, another team provided the population with some quick relief, including 11 tons of rice, oil, wheat and tomatoes, to prevent them from eating contaminated food.

The PRT’s specialized medical team will also offer assistance to all the district’s villages to show the people the causes of this disease and teach them a correct diet in order to avoid it.

Best Regards

Mohammad Bashaar

From: drsantosh74 <drsantosh74>Subject: dear rakesh,Dr Bashaarnetrumgroups (DOT) comDate: Friday, 4 July, 2008, 8:30 PM

Thank you for providing us with the valuable information from India.I would like to request Dr.Bashaar to provide us the impact of Gulrans on Afghan health status and its economyDR.Santosh> >>> >> From: sanjay choudhari <sanjaych7 (DOT) co.in>> >> Subject: camelbelly disease> >> netrumgroups (DOT) com> >> Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2008, 7:13 PM> >>> >> status in INDIA> >> In kusmi block of SARGUJA district in MP ,during 1973 and again

during> >> 1976 ,an outbreak of rapidly devoloping ascites and jaundice ws reported> >> among the Nagesia Tribals known as ENDEMIC ASCITES.> >> Age - All age groups involved except infants> >> Sex - Both sexes equally> >> Etiology - As per study conducted by National institute of nutrition> >> ,Hyderabad-- local population subsist on millet PANICUM MILIARE (locally> >> known as GONDHLI) which gets contaminated with weed seeds of CROTALARIA> >> (locally known as JHUNJHUNIA )> >> Chemical analysis of Jhunjhunia found to contain PYRROLIZIDINE alkaloids> >> which are hepatotoxins .> >> Preventive measures--> >> -- Educating the people in affected areas about the disese> >> --Deweeding of Jhunjhunia plants which grow along with staple> >> -- Simple sieving

of millet at the household level to remove the> >> seeds of jhunjhunia which are smaller than those of the millet> >>> >> ------------ --------- ---------> >> Bollywood, fun, friendship, sports and more. You name it, we have it.<http://in.rd. / tagline_groups_ 1/*http:/ /in.promos. /groups/bestofyah oo/>> >>> >>> >>> >> ------------ --------- ---------> >> From Chandigarh to Chennai - find friends all over India. Click here.<http://in.rd. / tagline_groups_ 10/*http: //in.promos. /groups/ citygroups/ >> >>> >>> >> >

>>> >> >>

From Chandigarh to Chennai - find friends all over India. Click here.