Japanese Encephalitis toll at 165

Gorakhpur, Sep 18 (UNI) The deadly vector-borne menace, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) toll mounted to 165, following six more deaths in the last 48 hours in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

According to sources, since January, 1,026 JE patients had been admitted at the famous Baba Raghav Das Medical College here and several district hospitals in the region, of which 165, including 17 Biharis, succumbed.

Almost 190 patients -- including 21 fresh cases -- are in remission.

The JE patients trickle from 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 undertakes 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