Japanese Encephalitis toll mounts to 314

Gorakhpur, Nov 6 (UNI) The vector-borne Japanese Encephalitis (JE) disease continued to kill children in eastern Uttar Pradesh with the toll mounting to 314, following six more deaths in the last 48 hours.

Joint Director Health Dr Umakant Prasad said 1,665 people suffering from JE were admitted at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College here.

Almost 76 patients -- including 14 fresh cases -- were still under treatment.

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

At least 203 cases were from Bihar, while Nepal accounts for 8 JE cases reported so far. Of the 314 JE deaths, 44 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 came under cloud with the mounting toll.

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