Deadly encephalitis strikes again in Bihar

Suspected encephalitis has killed 26 children in Bihar's Gaya district in the last three weeks, but the state government is yet to identify the fatal disease.

The children succumbed to the disease at the Anugrah Narain Medical College and Hospital in Gaya.

ANMCH Superintendent Sitaram Prasad told rediff.com over the telephone on Thursday that 26 children have died due to encephalitis till date.

He said more than 90 children with suspected encephalitis had been admitted for treatment at the hospital .

"Some children are still battling for life as their condition remains critical. Others are showing sign of improvement during treatment," he said.

Prasad said that the children belonged to the poorest families in Gaya and its neighbouring districts.

Bihar Health Minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey said measures were being taken to check the spread of the disease.

"The government has decided to identify the affected villages and carry out intensive spraying of DDT to kill mosquitoes, which are responsible for the suspected disease," he said.

A district administration official said that suspected encephalitis has earlier hit Gaya in 2009, 2007 and 2005 and killed dozens of children.

Fear of suspected encephalitis is haunting the Patna Medical College and Hospital, with 45 samples of brain fever cases having tested positive in the last one-and-half-month. Three people have reportedly died due to the disease.

In August, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad informed the Rajya Sabha that clinical and epidemiological data suggested that it was an outbreak of acute encephalitis syndrome, resulting in 150 cases and 55 deaths,
mostly among children.

In a written reply, the minister said these cases were reported from early June to mid July from Muzaffarpur and its bordering areas in Bihar.