Victim of 'incurable' paralysis
Like any other child of her age, nine-year-old Johura was healthy enough and could move normally only a couple of months ago.
But the life of the minor girl suddenly changed when her poor parents noticed that muscles of her hands, legs and neck were becoming floppy and lifeless and no longer functioning properly.
“After examining her for long, doctors at Domar Upazila Health Complex opined that my daughter might have been attacked by incurable paralysis which seems to be polio at first glance”, said Johura's father Idris Ali, a resident of Purbo Chikonmati village in Nilphamari's Domar upazila.
Officials at the District Health Department suspect that the girl might have been attacked by Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP).
To combat the situation, the department took prompt initiative about a week ago and formed a medical team to ensure safety of the other children of the village.
Dr Raihan Bari, resident medical officer (RMO) of Domar 50-bed Hospital, said children under 15 years of age become victims of AFP.
AFP is more like an extensive paralysis that destroys nerve cells which activate muscles and the affected muscles no longer function, the RMO said.
“It is an infectious disease and there is no remedy to cure it permanently so far,” added the RMO.
"In most cases the disease is mistakenly treated as polio. AFP, mainly caused by the harmful bacteria that exist in stool, is more fatal than polio," said Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Minazuddin Mia.
Nilphamari Civil Surgeon Dr Abdur Rashid said they have collected stool sample of the girl and sent it to Public Health Laboratory in Dhaka for confirmation.
Comments