JE kills 2 more children in UP taking total toll to 183

Gorakhpur, Sep 26 (UNI) The deadly Japanese Encephalitis (JE) toll in Uttar Pradesh mounted to 183 with the death of two more children during the last 24 hrs.

Till now, at least 1,090 people, mostly children, sufferring from JE have been admitted in hospital here.

Joint director health Dr Umakant Prasad said the inflow of patients continued unbated at the famous Baba Raghav Das Medical College, which has become the centre of JE menace.

As many as 75 patients including 9 new cases are undergoing treatment in hospital.

The patients hail from Gorakhpur, Deoria, Maharajganj, Sant Kabirnagar, Kushinagar, Basti, Siddharthnagar, Azamgarh, Gonda and Balrampur districts of UP. Five patients belong to Nepal.

Gorakhpur and Basti have the dubious distinction of being the JE epicentre in the region. The endemic afflicts eastern UP during monsoon every year and continues to haunt people till the end of November.

JE is a disease, which is spread by infected mosquitoes.

It is one of a group of mosquito-borne virus diseases that can affect the central nervous system of a person causing severe complications and even death. Among the survivors, 30 per cent would have serious brain damage including paralysis.

The endemic continues to kill people since it was first detected in 1978.

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