Suspected encephalitis has killed 12 children in 48 hours in Bihar's Muzaffarpur and Gaya districts, taking the death toll to 32 in the last 10 days, officials on Wednesday said. The victims were mostly Mahadalits.

More than four dozen people are still fighting for their lives in Muzafarpur and Gaya health officials said. According to health officials, 24 children died in Muzaffarpur and 8 children died in Gaya till date.

Amarjit Sinha, principal secretary, health, who visited Muzaffarpur on Tuesday, said that the cause of the deaths was yet to be ascertained.

"Most of the deaths were because of the excessive heat, dehydration and malnutrition," Sinha said. He claimed that government has initiated several measures to control the disease.

The mosquito-borne disease, which claimed over a hundred lives last year, made a comeback last week when it claimed three children in Muzaffarpur followed by two more in Gaya.

Ninety-three children died of the disease in Gaya and 55 in Muzaffarpur last year.