130 deaths from kidney disease in 15 years in a village in Chhattisgarh, no one knows the reason

In Supebeda and 9 other villages of Gariaband district of Chhattisgarh, 130 deaths due to Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) have been reported in the last 15 years, dropping the population of this area by nearly 10-15 thousand.

Although the state government declares that continuous efforts are being made to find out the causes of CKD which has spread in these villages near Devbhog Diamond Mine, about 250 km from Raipur, yet no single cause has come to light so far.

According to the villagers of Supebeda, in their village of 1800 population, 130 people have died in the last 15 years and about 80% of the households have one or more people undergoing treatment for kidney disease.

The villagers also say that the disease is not limited to Supebeda but has also affected 9-11 other affected villages. About 15 thousand people in this region have come under CKD. However, the name of Supebeda village is prominently taken as the people here have started raising their voice for their safety.

Chhattisgarh Health Minister TS Singhdev told the media “the same symptoms of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) have been found in Supebeda and adjoining villages. Many people have died from this but no single cause of this disease has come to light so far."

"In addition to arsenic, fluoride and other heavy metals that cause kidney disease in drinking water, there may be other causes such as genetics, alcohol consumption," he said.

"Some samples of water and soil have been tested in Supebeda, which showed high levels of heavy metals in the water, however, this cannot be considered as the main cause of CKD. Experts from AIIMS and PGI Chandigarh have been proposed by the state government to study CKD in Supebeda and other areas. Only after their report can solid causes of the disease come to light."

In October 2020, a study report of kidney patients of Supebeda released by experts from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Raipur, Ramakrishna Care Hospital Raipur, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Raipur and George Institute of Global Health, New Delhi states that the heavy metals arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead, which are considered to be the cause of kidney disease, were found to be high in these patients.

The report, published by the International Society of Nephrology, entitled ‘CKD of Unknown Origin in Supebeda Chhattisgarh, India’, states, "Urine tests of 10 patients found high levels of chromium, manganese, fluoride and nickel. Though the presence of these heavy metals in the urine does not mean that they are the main cause of kidney disease. This will also require a serum test."

The report states, "This is the first solid report of CKD patients being found in a new area in India which is different from other reports. More detailed studies are needed to find out a load of CKD and its causes in this village and surrounding areas."

Genetic history is also considered in this study report as a possible cause of kidney disease. The report mentions the examination of 12 kidney patients of Supebeda and their urine tests.

Trilochan Sonwani, who lost his father to CKD in Supebeda, told the media, "No concrete steps have been taken while the people of the village are constantly struggling for it." Sonwani and other villagers say that the main cause of death from CKD is the presence of heavy metals in the water of borewells in Supebeda and other villages.

Sonwani says, "There is hardly a house in Supebeda where there are either no kidney patients or no one has died of the disease in the last decade and a half. The death toll from kidney disease in the village has been going on for the last 15 years when the first death occurred in 2005 at the age of 45, Nilambar Netam."

According to him, "these deaths seemed normal to the villagers till 2016 but in May 2017, the death of 23 villagers within a month disturbed the residents here. Among the dead were 22-23-year-olds. Disturbed by the constant deaths, we inquired from the hospitals of Bhopalpatnam and Visakhapatnam in Odisha, where he was undergoing treatment, and found out that all the deaths were due to kidney failure. The doctors there said that the water of the village is contaminated, it contains a lot of heavy metal."