Twenty-nine more children succumbed to Japanese encephalitis in eastern Uttar Pradesh since Thursday, taking the death toll to 403, a senior official said in Gorakhpur on Saturday.
Ninety-six fresh cases of the killer brain fever were reported in Gorakhpur and Basti divisions on Saturday, Additional Director (Health) D P Mishra said.
Altogether 1579 patients, mostly children, were undergoing treatment in different hospitals since the outbreak of the disease, he said.
Maharajganj district remained worst-affected with 97 deaths, followed by Gorakhpur (85) and Kushinagar (70), Mishra added.