Gujarat has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The latest to hit this disaster-ridden state is the hepatitis-B outbreak. It has taken the administration by surprise, and there is a struggle to cope with the situation as effectively as possible. The city of Ahmedabad and the town of Modasa have been showered attention by visiting medical teams but the villagers living in the interior parts complain of neglect.

It is infuriating to see that the deciding bodies swing into action only after the damage is done. On one side bodies are piling up for cremation while on the other, heads are rolling – some among them belong to irresponsible doctors.

What baffles one is that these doctors, despite being popular and running successful clinics, have ignored the fact that the Hepatitis B virus is a far more potent virus than most of the deadly viruses known. It is an established killer. Many of the survivors harbor the HbsAg antigen for life. In some of these individuals the Hep B virus, which is a retrovirus, gets incorporated into the DNA in the liver cells and puts them on a red alert for hepatocellular carcinoma!

Taking these facts into account, the best option would be to use and throw disposable syringes and other wares. These disposables have to be handled with extreme caution and destroyed using an incinerator. If glass syringes have to be re-used (it is recommended that they are not) they need to be autoclaved thoroughly and not just washed and heat sterilized.

Instead of going around like headless chicken after an epidemic strikes, the government’s monitoring bodies should step out from their slumber and impose regulations in a country which lacks self-regulatory traits and which believes in moral policing but shies from civic responsibilities. Those responsible for these deaths in Gujarat must be brought to book –this could act as a deterrent from future calamities.