JE claims 41 in UP this season

Gorakhpur, July 12 (UNI) The killer vector-borne menace Japanese Encephalitis (JE) continued to claim lives in East Uttar Pradesh with the toll mounting to 41, following the death of one more child here last night.

Last year, JE had claimed more than 1,000 lives in UP alone.

According to sources, the inflow of JE patients continued unabated at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College.

Since January this year, a total of 173 people suffering from JE have been admitted at the medical college, of which 41 succumbed, while 21 patients are still recuperating.

The patients trickle from Gorakhpur, Deoria, Maharajganj, Sant Kabirnagar, Kushinagar, Basti, Mau, Ballia, Siddharthnagar, Azamgarh, Gonda and Balrampur districts of UP. Some cases also pertain to the adjoining districts of Bihar.

The endemic afflicts eastern UP during monsoon every year. The government undertakes a massive vaccination drive against the vector-borne disease, however, the efficacy and penetration of the drive comes under cloud with the mounting toll.

UNI