Japanese Encephalitis toll at 132

Gorakhpur, Aug 12 (UNI) The deadly Japanese Encephalitis (JE) toll in Uttar Pradesh has mounted to 132 with the death of two more children today.

The fresh deaths were reported from Sant Kabirnagar and Mahrajganj districts.

Official sources said since January one this year, 698 JE patients had reported at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College here, of which 132 persons, including 15 from Bihar and two from neighbouring country Nepal have died.

In the last 24 hrs, 23 fresh JE cases had come to light, while 153 JE patients were still convalescing at various hospitals.

JE patients mostly trickle from Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Sant Kabirnagar, Deoria, Kushinagar, Basti, Siddharthnagar, Azamgarh, Gonda, Bahraich, Mau, Ballia and Balrampur districts of UP.

Gorakhpur has the dubious distiction of being the JE epicentre in the region.

Last year, JE had killed over 1,000 people in UP, while the scourage has accounted for several thousands of lives in the eastern Uttar Pradesh region over the last decade.

The endemic afflicts eastern UP during monsoon every year and continues to take people under its jaws till the onset of winters.

The government undertakes massive vaccination drive against the disease every year, however, the efficacy and penetration of the drive comes under cloud with the mounting toll.

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