BHOPAL: Though, to date, the vast tribal population of Madhya Pradesh is more and less untouched by COVID-19 but that this situation may not last long. Experts warn that if, god forbid, the deadly contagion makes its way into the tribal belt of the state it would wreak havoc, given the fact that child malnutrition is rampant among the Adivasis. Between 40-55 per cent of children in tribal districts are malnourished.
So far, the data on persons who have contracted COVID-19 or succumbed to it in the state indicates that the deadly disease has spared the tribals.
To date, around 700 persons have tested positive for corona infection in the state and 50 of them have succumbed to the disease. Positive cases have been reported from 22 districts and deaths from six in the state.
Of the 10 districts which have more than 40 per cent tribal population, only three have reported positive patients. However all of them are non-Adivasis. No death attributable to corona infection has occurred in any of these districts. One Adivasi has died of the disease in the Chhindwara district.
Madhya Pradesh has the biggest tribal population in the country. According to the 2011 Census, around 1.53 crore tribals reside in the state. There are 89 tribal blocks in the state and more than 40 per cent population of ten districts – Alirajpur, Jhabua, Barwani, Dindori, Mandla, Dhar, Anuppur, Umaria, Shahdol and Betul – is tribal. Of these districts 14 positive patients have been found in Barwani and one each in Betul and Dhar.
Medical officers posted in these districts say that all the positive patients are non-tribals. They told Free Press that both morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19 is likely to be low among the Adivasis because of their higher immunity levels and also owing to the almost zero incidence of lifestyle diseases like hypertension and diabetes among them. Patients suffering from these diseases are at increased risk for COVID-19 infection and are more likely to die than the others.
Another reason for the low incidence of the corona among the tribals may be that relatively lesser number of them travel abroad or come in touch with those who have a foreign travel history.
The nighbouring Chhattisgarh, which has about 32 per cent Adivasi population, has reported just 18 cases with not a single death. This again seems to indicate that the tribals are better protected against the contagion.
Dr Hiralal Alawa, Congress MLA from Manawar constituency in Dhar district, told Free Press that while it was true that the immunity levels of tribals were higher than the general populace that does not mean they cannot get afflicted with the disease. Alawa, who is a doctor by training and profession, said that mortality rates among the Adivasis would be lower than the general population but on the flip side high prevalence of malnutrition among children in the Adivasi areas may provide a fertile ground to the virus.