An outbreak of encephalitis, the mosquito-borne disease in northern India showed no sign of abating as 18 more children died, taking the death toll to 136 in nearly two weeks, officials said Monday.
More than 400 children remain in hospitals across Uttar Pradesh and many of them are in serious conditions, said Avnish Mehrotra, a spokesman for the state's health department.
Several districts in the impoverished state are prone to the disease that often hits children and is preventable by vaccination. Health authorities in the state say there isn't enough money to immunise the children.
The state has sought help of United Nations Children's Fund and the World Health Organization to tackle the situation.
According to official estimates, about 3,500 people have died of encephalitis in the state over the past 25 years.