Japanese Encephalitis kills 4 more, toll at 56

Gorakhpur, Aug 10 (UNI) The deadly vector-borne menace, Japanese Encephalitis (JE), continued to claim lives of children in eastern Uttar Pradesh with the toll mounting to 56, following four more deaths today.

Joint director health Dr Umakant Prasad said since January, over 345 people suffering from JE had been admitted at the famous Baba Raghav Das Medical College here, of which 56 died.

The victims hailed from Gorakhpur, Maharajganj and the neighbouring state Bihar.

Almost 72 patients -- including two fresh cases -- are in remission. Some patients are also recuperating at the Gorakhpur and Deoria district hospitals.

The JE patients belong to Gorakhpur, Deoria, Maharajganj, Sant Kabirnagar, Kushinagar, Ballia, Gonda, Bahraich, Mau, Basti, Siddharthnagar, Azamgarh, Gonda and Balrampur districts of UP.

Gorakhpur has the dubious distiction of being the JE epicentre in the region. The endemic afflicts eastern UP during monsoon every year. Last year, the killer disease had taken almost 1,000 people under its jaws.

The government undertakens a massive vaccination drive against the vector-borne disease every year, however, the efficacy and penetration of the drive comes under cloud with the mounting toll.

UNI