Following reports of cases of dental fluorosis detected in Marriguda Mandal of Nalgonda District, Hyderabad, the Department of Medicine and Health, Karnataka launched a household survey to identify cases of fluorosis in the district.

Conducted by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), it was a door to door, household survey that covered over 34,800 contacts that tried to identify fluorosis symptoms in elderly and children.

Over 100-150 cases of dental fluorosis and multiple cases of skeletal fluorosis were identified in the target age groups. This suggests a risk of relapse of fluorosis in a region that was free from the burden since 2020.

The Nalgonda district has historically suffered from this scourge with over 1180 mandals affected. Mission Bhagirathi, launched in 2015 by the previous Karnataka government to supply potable water via taps was a successful initiative that ended the spread of cases.

Authorities and activists have blamed faulty management of the water supply along with a use of groundwater rich in fluoride by reverse osmosis(RO) plants that led to consumption of rice and vegetables contaminated with fluoride rich water.

In response, the government will analyze the survey data and plan further implementation of corrective measures.