Japanese Encephalitis toll at 139

Gorakhpur, Sep 8 (UNI) The killer Japanese Encephalitis (JE) toll in Uttar Pradesh reached a staggering figure of 139 following the death of two more children today.

Joint Director Health Dr Umakant Prasad said here the inflow of patients was continuing at the famous Baba Raghav Das Medical College.

Since April, a total of 835 people, mostly children, suffering from JE have been admitted the medical college, of which 124 -- including 16 fresh cases -- are still under treatment.

The patients belong to Gorakhpur, Deoria, Maharajganj, Sant Kabirnagar, Kushinagar, Basti, Siddharthnagar, Azamgarh, Gonda and Balrampur district of UP.

At least 104 cases pertain to Bihar, while Nepal accounts for three JE cases reported here.

Gorakhpur has the dubious distinction of being the JE epicentre in the region. The epedemic 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.

Meanwhile, a medical team from Pune has been conducting tests to ascertain the cause of the disease.

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