Japanese Encephalitis kills 4 more, toll at 382

Gorakhpur, Nov 1 (UNI) The fatal vector-borne menace, Japanese Encephalitis (JE), continued to target children in eastern Uttar Pradesh with the toll mounting to a staggering figure of 384, following four more deaths in the last 24 hours.

Official sources said since January almost 2,206 JE patients had been admitted to the famous Baba Raghav Das Medical College here and district hopitals of the Gorakhpur division, of which 384, including 49 Biharis and four Nepalis, succumbed.

Almost 203 patients, including 13 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 in its grip.

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