JE claims 184 lives in UP

Gorakhpur, Sep 27 (UNI) Japanese Encephalitis (JE) toll in Uttar Pradesh has reached 148, following the death of one more child in the last 24 hrs.

Till now 1,106 people, mostly children, sufferring from JE have been admitted at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College.

Joint director, health Dr Umakant Prasad said almost 80 patients including 16 fresh cases were undergoing treatment at 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 dubious distiction of being the JE epicentre in the region. The endemic afflicts eastern Uttar Pradesh during monsoon every year.

JE usually starts as flu-like illness, with fever, exhaution, headache, nausea and vomiting. The disease can progress into serious infection of the brain. Among the survivors, 30 per cent are prone to serious brain damage including paralysis.

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