Acute encephalitis claims life of 3-year-old in Bihar

ACUTE ENCEPHALITIS SYNDROME CLAIMED 164 LIVES IN 2019. SINCE 1995, MORE THAN 5,000 CHILDREN HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH THIS DISEASE IN INDIA

nMUZAFFARPUR: Amid fears over the spread of Covid-19, the Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) disease has claimed a life in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur on Sunday night.

The three-and-half-year old victim, the son of a daily wage earner from Baiju Bujurg village, under Sakara police station area of Muzaffarpur district, died around 11pm on Sunday.

He was among the two children admitted to the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) at Muzaffarpur Friday morning.

The other child, a girl from Kudia village of East Champaran district, is undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Confirming the death, Dr Sunil Kumari Shahi, superintendent, SKMCH, said that they could not save the boy despite their best efforts. “The boy was brought here in critical condition as his blood sugar level was hardly 25 points and the level was going down with each passing time. The parents should have brought him here sooner.

We tried our best to save him, but failed,” said Shahi.

He added that the condition of the girl is improving.

“She is still critical, but out of danger. She is improving fast. Her blood sugar level is now at par. We are working towards improving her condition. If her condition improves further in the next two days, she will be shifted to general ward from pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), where she has been kept since last Friday,” the doctor said.

The AES claimed the lives of at least 164 children in 2019. Since 1995, more than 5,000 children have been diagnosed with this disease in the country, when this was first brought to the notice of doctors in north Bihar.