Jaundice panic still grips DU
Staff Correspondent
Jaundice panic still grips Dhaka University (DU) campus as the authorities could not yet ascertain the sources of the viral disease while final examinations of different batches of students have already started.Many students suffering from jaundice are in a fix whether they will take rest needed for their recovery from the ailment, or sit for the examinations. The DU authorities however announced special arrangements have been made to enable the affected students to take the examinations. A number of students alleged they are not aware of any special arrangements. "I sat for the examinations despite doctors' advice to take rest. I have doubts about special arrangements the authorities claimed to have made," said Monirul Islam, a final year student of journalism and a resident of Jahurul Haque Hall. Students admitted to the DU Medical Centre also said the university authorities have not clearly said anything about examinations under special arrangements. Many students of jaundice-ridden Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall, Ziaur Rahman Hall and Kabi Jasimuddin Hall have left the halls to stay with their relatives in Dhaka or have gone to their village homes. They are hesitant to take meals or water at the dormitories although the university authorities are now providing boiled water and have initiated a cleanliness drive. About 400 students out of around 800 students are now staying at Bangabandhu Hall. Meanwhile, tests of water of reservoirs at the three dormitories at Banagabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University showed the water was virus-free. "It is now clear that water at the dormitories has not caused the outbreak of jaundice," said DU Pro Vice Chancellor Prof AFM Yusuf Haider. Students very often eat and drink at roadside shops and canteens, and this might have led to the ailment, he thought. He also claimed that according to the DU medical centre report, there are not more than 140 students affected with jaundice. But the students at the three dormitories said more than 500 students are suffering from the disease. Many of them are undergoing treatment elsewhere. DU Chhatra League leaders and activists yesterday marched to the medical centre and submitted a memorandum to the vice chancellor through the centre authorities. The memorandum demanded modernisation of the medical centre and keeping it open round the clock, free check up of hepatitis virus A, B and C, and vaccination for hepatitis-B.
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