Encephalitis kills 97 children in Bihar
NEW DELHI: Nearly 100 children have died this month from encephalitis, commonly known as brain fever, in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, a state health official said on Monday.
Ninety-seven children had died and 146 were being treated for the disease, which occurs in seasonal outbreaks every summer, Shailesh Prasad Singh, a medical official in the Muzaffarpur district of the state, told Reuters.
“There are no good facilities here,” Sunil Ram, the father of one girl that died, told Reuters partner ANI outside a government-run hospital on Sunday.
“Had the facilities been good, she would have never died.” State and central government authorities have said they are doing everything possible to treat the sick children.
Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain, caused by anyone of a number of viruses. symptoms include high fever, vomiting and, in severe cases, seizures, paralysis and coma. Infants and elderly people are particularly vulnerable.
Five years ago, a similar outbreak killed about 380 people in bi h ar, india’ s third most-populous state.
Protesters gathered in New Delhi demanding immediate intervention by the central government in Bihar. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan visited the state on Sunday to assess the situation.
Vardhan, who visited Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur on Sunday, expressed concern over the outbreak. Vardhan was accompanied by his junior Ashwini Kumar Choubey and state health minister Mangal Pandey. He held a high-level meeting with health and district officials as well as SKMCH doctors.
During his inspection, the union minister got a glimpse of the tragedy when he came across a sobbing mother who had just lost her five-yearold son. Sources said three children died during Vardhan’s four-hour visit, leaving the minister and other officials shocked.
“The government will leave no stone unturned to contain it at the earliest. All possible measures are being taken for the purpose,” Vardhan told relatives of the affected children. Later, the union minister held another review meeting in Patna before leaving for New Delhi.
Giving a break-up of the casualties, Muzaffarpur civil surgeon SP Singh said while 76 children had died at the SKMCH, 17 deaths had been recorded at the Kejriwal Matrisadan since January this year. Currently, 115 patients were being treated at the two hospitals, he added.