HC terms Japanese Encephalitis as ''national emergency''

Allahabad, Feb 1 (UNI) Expressing disappointment at the steps taken by the Central and state governments to check Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and other viral diseases, the Allahabad High Court has declared the outbreak of the viral disease in eastern Uttar Pradesh as ''national emergency''.

The court also called upon the two governments to immediately respond to the situation.

Making this declaration, Justice Sunil Ambwani observed the region has been endemic to the vector-borne diseases since 1978.

There have been more than 25,000 reported JE cases in the B R D Medical College alone, of which 25 per cent have died and about 25 per cent suffered from mental disorders.

The orders were passed on a petition of Rajesh Kumar Srivastava of Varanasi.

Fixing February 20 as the next date of hearing, the court also asked both the governments to file affidavits regarding the action taken to check the disease.

The HC noted the disease, which took the toll of at least 39 children at Kushinagar district in December 2006 alone, had not been identified.

''Even the experts do not know the cause of death of 39 children.

It shows that the state government does not have the capacity to even identify the disease'', it observed.

The court directed to place this order before Secretary Medical and health services, government of India. It also directed that the Central Cabinet be informed of this order and requested to take immediate steps in this regard.

UNI