Tamil Nadu Health Department officials rushed to the spot and conducted an investigation after news of the death of two people due to mosquito repellent fumes came to light in Annur in Coimbatore district.
Although the health of both of them was already bad, but many people have attributed their sudden death to the smoke used in the houses. Both the families have not filed a police complaint regarding these deaths.
The executive officer of the town panchayat that investigated and the deputy director of the district health department told the BBC that both men were undergoing treatment for serious health problems and did not die from smoke inhalation.
Medical experts say that it is important to follow safety precautions while using this medicine, because the chemicals added to mosquito repellent can be dangerous for people with lung problems.
According to reports, 3 children got infected with dengue in the last one week in Sathyamangalam Road Uppathottam area under Annur Nagar Panchayat of Coimbatore district. After this the Nagar Panchayat administration started the campaign. On the 11th, mosquito repellent was sprayed in many areas.
Local people allege that when Nagar Panchayat officials sprayed mosquito repellent under the supervision of Nagar Panchayat Executive Officer Karthikeyan, residents of some areas asked them not to smoke in such a way that it would go inside the houses.
But the officials did not listen to the people and instead went inside the houses and sprayed the medicine even though the doors were open.
After this, within a few hours the news spread that Mohan (65), an auto driver of the area and Prema alias Rani (75), who lived in another area of the same ward, had died.
Due to the death of both of them within a short period of time, many people of the area told the media that the reason for their death was the excessive amount of insecticide mixed with mosquito repellent and the dense smoke.
Some family members of deceased Mohan had said that he died of suffocation due to excessive amount of pyrethrum pesticide sprayed inside the house despite being asked not to spray it inside the house.
But city council and health department officials denied this. After this, the families of the deceased said that they died naturally due to poor health.
Former local councilor Shekhar alleged that he changed his statements due to fear of the authorities.
Speaking to BBC, Mahendran, a relative of auto driver Mohan, said, "It is true that my brother Mohan was already unwell. But this incident happened when he returned home after completing his treatment in the hospital. To prevent smoke from going inside the house, he had closed the front door and said that there was a patient in the house. But when he came back near the open door and there was smoke, the smoke spread throughout the house."
Mahendran said, "The door on one side was closed, so the smoke that went into the house could not come out and the people inside started suffocating. It is possible that healthy people may have been slightly suffocated by this smoke, but it must have definitely affected those who were unwell. But it cannot be said that this was the only reason."
"She was already undergoing treatment at a private hospital and was brought home. Her condition was critical and she died a few days later," Premadeva, who lives near the house of Prema alias Rani, who died in the same ward on the same day, told BBC Tamil.
Premdeva said, "He already had the problem of asthma. But we do not know whether there is any connection between the mosquito repellent and his death. Because there are many elderly people and children in our area. None of them had any problem. So we do not think that the reason for his death was the mosquito repellent. That is why his family buried him in the cemetery without making any complaint."
Mohan's family also performed his last rites without filing any complaint with the police or anywhere else. Police said that no complaint has been registered at Annur police station regarding these two deaths.
However, based on the information published in the media, it was reported that the district administration has ordered health department officials to investigate the matter.
Shekhar, former councilor of Annur's 7th Ward, told the BBC, "The city authorities do not listen to the people. Many people in our ward went inside their homes and sprayed pesticides despite being told to do so."
Former councilor Shekhar said, "When mosquito repellent was sprayed inside houses in one area, the women of the area protested. After this, they left from there and went to another area and sprayed there. The situation was even worse there. Prema, who already had asthma, died within half an hour of the spraying."
"His family had initially spoken to the media about this, but later backed out fearing complaints and legal action. The district administration should investigate this and take appropriate action against the city council officials."
Annur Nagar Panchayat Executive Officer Karthikeyan rejected the allegations and told the BBC, "Last month we received news of three people being infected with dengue in that area. The people of the area had requested us to spray mosquito repellent."
"So we sprayed it on the streets. We didn't smoke inside any of the houses. But it's possible that smoke might have gone into houses where doors and windows were open."
He said, "The claim that excessive quantity of pesticide was mixed in it is also not correct and the information that the pesticide was old is also not correct. The Assistant Director of Nagar Panchayats and the Deputy Director of the Health Department have come here and examined it. The validity of the pesticide is till August 2027. The pesticide was mixed in the appropriate quantity. Despite it being sprayed in front of 200 houses on the same road, no one was harmed."
He said that both auto drivers Mohan and Prema were treated in the same private hospital and doctors had certified that Mohan had heart failure and Prema had lung disease and asthma.
Assistant Director of Nagar Panchayats Abu Bakar also told the media the same thing. Health department officials, including Coimbatore District Health Department Deputy Director Balusamy and Zonal Entomologist (in-charge) Shivakumar, have returned after completing their investigation in Annur on the orders of the district administration.
Dr Balusamy told the BBC, "Our tests revealed that Mohan had liver failure. He was also treated for fluid accumulation in his lungs. Doctors said his condition was critical and he was brought home."
Balusamy said, "Rani had a lung disease called COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). She was also on a CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) ventilator at home. That morning, when the city council staff came to apply mosquito repellent at 7 am, the family members asked them not to do so and they left."
"The medicine was sprayed on the road. His death and the use of mosquito repellent coincidentally happened at the same time and there is no connection between the two. We have also confirmed that no additional quantity of the medicine was mixed. A report will be submitted to the district administration soon."
India's National Vector Borne Disease Control Program recommends fumigation to control Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that spread dengue.
Studies show that local authorities are using different pesticides like malathion for spraying in open areas. According to the study, Malathion is a man-made organophosphate pesticide.
Although there has been no confirmation of death due to the fumes of mosquito repellent, general practitioner Adityan Kugan advises that everyone should follow safety precautions while using it.
He told BBC, "In our country, to kill mosquitoes during the rainy season, fogging machines are used by mixing pyrethroid and malathion insecticides in kerosene or diesel. This smoke spreads in the form of air contaminated with chemicals."
"Therefore, if people with lung problems, asthma patients and the elderly inhale this smoke in large quantities, the lungs may stop functioning."
Dr. Adityan Kugan said that inhaling excessive amounts of mosquito repellent smoke can cause damage to the nervous system, headache and tremors.
He said that studies have shown that some people can even suffer seizures if they inhale too much smoke. He said that people who already have fever and are undergoing chemotherapy for cancer may be more sensitive to its effects.
He said, "It seems that one of the deceased in Annur had pneumonia. If his oxygen level is already 85-88 and he inhales this smoke, it will definitely cause great harm."
"In western countries, this mosquito repellent is mixed with a special mixture for this very purpose. Here when kerosene is mixed with diesel, its smell also makes breathing more difficult. The smell of kerosene also affects the nervous system."
According to doctors and studies, the safety precautions to be followed while spraying mosquito repellent are:
The time of spraying mosquito repellent should be told in advance.
Mosquito repellent should be used only in the open. It should not be used indoors.
While spraying mosquito repellent on the roads, doors and windows of houses should be kept closed.
Everyone should wear masks during spraying and should not walk on the streets.
Food items should be removed and covered well.
Children should not be allowed to play outside during that time. They should be sent out only after half an hour.
Environmental researcher Swati R. Iyer says in her research paper that the World Health Organization has repeatedly stated that the smoke used to control mosquitoes does not cause any significant harm to humans.
He says that the amount of pesticide used in it is very less and it is spread in such a small quantity that it can kill only very small creatures like mosquitoes.
At the same time, Mumbai-based pulmonologist and epidemiologist Dr. Lancelot Pinto says that inhaling this smoke can be harmful for some people and can cause worrying symptoms.
Dr. Pinto says that for people who already have lung problems, the situation may get worse.
Dr. Pinto explains that earlier studies have shown that people working in the stage and entertainment industries, who are constantly exposed to high levels of smog and smoke, also develop long-term respiratory problems.
He says that even if a single exposure is not serious, repeated exposure over a long period of time can be harmful.
