Japanese Encephalitis toll at 172

Gorakhpur, Aug 25 (UNI) The vector-borne deadly Japanese Encephalitis (JE) toll in eastern Uttar Pradesh today reached 172, following the deaths of eight more children in the last 24 hours.

The fresh deaths included three each in Gorakhpur and Deoaria district, while two persons succumbed in Kushinagar.

Official sources said from January one, 936 JE patients had reported at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College here and other district hospitals in the division, of which 172 had died.

Since yesterday, 27 fresh JE cases had come to light. Almost 140 JE patients were still convalescing at the 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.

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

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