Japanese Encephalitis toll reaches 148

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

Gorakhpur, Sep 12 (UNI) The fatal Japanese Encephalitis (JE) toll in Uttar Pradesh has reached 148 following the death of three children today.

At least 895 people, mostly children, sufferring from JE have been admitted at the medical college and 148 have died so far.

Joint director Health Umakant Prasad said the inflow of patients was continuing at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College. As many as 127 patients including 21 fresh cases are undergoing treatment in the hospital.

The patients hail from Gorakhpur, Deoria, Maharajganj, Sant Kabirnagar, Kushinagar, Basti, Siddharthnagar, Azamgarh, Gonda and Balrampur district of Uttar Pradesh.

Gorakhpur has the distiction of being the JE epicentre in the region. The endemic afflicts eastern part of the State 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.

Sources said JE spreads by infected mosquitoes.It is one of a group of mosquito-borne virus diseases that can affect the central nervous system causing severe complications and even death.

It usually starts as a flu-like illness, with fever, chills, exhaustion, headache, nausea and vomiting, while confusion and restlessness can also occur in the early stage. The disease can progress into serious infection of the brain. Among the survivors, 30 per cent suffering from serious brain damage including paralysis.

UNI ATI AK DB2004

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