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Deadly drink "In 1996,
the Anuradhapura district had 13% of patients suffering from renal
failure (CRF) when compared with countrywide statistics, while in
2000 this figure had increased to 23%. With reports indicating that
pesticide use in the area too had recorded an increase, there seems
to be an obvious link between the two," says Dr. Wasantha Dissanayake,
the consultant in charge of the renal unit of the Anuradhapura General
Hospital. Dr. Dissanayake
explains that the Friday clinic held at the hospital weekly treats
more than 300 patients with idiopathic (no cause) renal failure
from different parts of the NCP. A study done among them has produced
some startling data. The largest
number of patients suffering from renal failure are farmers, while
the highest number of victims is from Medawachchiya. "When
comparing with national statistics we find that in 2002, of the
1,035 patients who died due to CRF, 202 were from the Anuradhapura
district, the highest from any area," says Dr. Dissanayake.
There could be two reasons for such a high incidence of renal failure
in the area. Either the water is contaminated with heavy metals
such as cadmium, mercury or fluoride or it may be due to pesticide
contamination. The first scenario is unlikely because there are
no large-scale factory emissions, which could cause heavy metal
contamination.
So
we have to consider the possibility of pesticide contamination quite
seriously because this is an agricultural area and pesticide use
is high, argues Dr. Dissanayake, adding that they are urgently trying
to find out the cause by getting together with Water Board officials
to conduct area-specific studies. One such victim
is S. Dharmaweera who lies on a bed in the recently-opened haemodialysis
unit of the hospital letting the machines do the functions usually
done by his kidneys. This 45-year-old
farmer from Parasangaswewa in the Anuradhapura district did not
know anything was amiss until he got a hathiya (fit of panting)
and became breathless. When it became unbearable he sought treatment,
only to find that his vakugadu narakwela (kidneys were spoilt).
At the hospital he also realized that there could be a link between
his debilitating illness and the water he drank. No, he never carried
a bottle of water to the fields, nor did any of his neighbours.
He just took a sip here or there, mostly from the field itself or
from a nearby well, to quench his thirst. Now the machine
has to do what his kidneys are supposed to because Dharmaweera is
suffering from renal failure. He needs dialysis to prevent waste
products from accumulating in the blood. His blood is channelled
through the machine for waste extraction and the purified blood
pumped back into his body. "No studies
have been done so far," laments Dr. Dissanayake, urging that
the need is an in-depth analysis of the situation with checks being
done from where most of the patients drank their water. Referring
to a recent study done elsewhere in the Dambulla and Sigiriya areas,
he said 89% of the wells were found to be contaminated with pesticides.
In the NCP, the farmers usually take their water from wells, tube
wells, tanks or even the little pools in their paddyfields. The
ongoing data collection by Dr. Dissanayake finds that most of the
patients with chronic renal failure take their water from normal
deep wells. Of those suffering from CRF, only about 10-11% had a
family history of this disease.
"It
could also be that with the consumption of pesticide-contaminated
water, the renal condition may be precipitated in those who have
a family history of this disease," he says. In Ward 9 of
the hospital, the Consultant's namesake, Dr. Wasantha Dissanayake,
the House Officer is attending to M. Ranaweera, 42, from Wilachchiya.
Ranaweera seems to be listless, in pain and also confused. "His abdomen
was puffed up. He was in discomfort. He was vomiting and had high
blood-urea when he was first brought here. His renal functions were
badly affected," says the House Officer supervising a peritoneal
dialysis, another form of treatment for this disease. According to
the House Officer, of the 90 patients in the ward about 10 are victims
of kidney ailments. Ranaweera's
son who is at his bedside says his father drinks water from the
well, strengthening Consultant Dissanayake's contention. "Farmers
spray pesticides, which could easily drain into wells or tanks and
also wash themselves at the nearest well, further contaminating
the water." On the way
back to Colombo, off the main road, near Jayaganga in the Talawa
area, the scene is breathtakingly pastoral. Vast tracts of paddy
stretch as far as the eye can see, with a tank shimmering in the
background. A young farmer is ankle deep in the mud among the young
paddy shoots, going to and fro rhythmically and systematically spraying
"thel". He does not wear any protective gloves or mask.
Part of the liquid falls on his legs. Adjacent to
the field is an unprotected well and by the side lies the bottle
of pesticide the farmer has opened to mix with the water before
spraying the field, bringing home the reality of what Dr. Dissanayake
has been attempting to explain. While studies
are the need of the moment to ascertain whether there is a link
between pesticide contamination and chronic renal failure, the farmers
too need to be made aware that they are handling poisons which could
lead to complications such as renal failure and ultimately death. |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
This
is what is worrying doctors in the area, with statistics definitely
indicating such a trend.
