Japanese Encephalitis toll at 196

The vector-borne Japanese Encephalitis (JE) disease continued to kill children in eastern Uttar Pradesh with the toll mounting to 196, following five more deaths in the last 48 hrs.

Joint director health Dr Umakant Prasad said since April 1,174 people suffering from JE had been admitted at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College here.

Around 79 patients -- including 31 fresh cases -- are still under treatment. Two patients are recuperating at the Gorakhpur district hospital.

The JE patients are trickling from Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Sant Kabirnagar, Deoria, Kushinagar, Basti, Siddharthnagar, Azamgarh, Gonda and Balrampur district of UP.

At least 144 cases pertain to Bihar, while Nepal accounts for six JE cases. Of the 196 JE deaths, 29 victims hailed from Bihar.

Gorakhpur has the dubious distiction of being the JE epicentre in the region. The endemic afflicts eastern UP during monsoon every year.

The government had undertaken a massive vaccination drive against the vector-borne disease, however, the efficacy and penetration of the drive has come under cloud with the mounting toll.

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