Japanese Encephalitis toll climbs to 267

Gorakhpur, Sep 19 (UNI) The death toll due to Japanese Encephalitis (JE) today rose to 267, following the death of a child overnight in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

The deceased was reportedly belonged to this district.

Since January, 1,435 JE patients had been admitted at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College here and other hospitals of the division, of which 267 succumbed.

Almost 176 patients -- including 19 fresh cases -- are in remission.

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

Gorakhpur has the dubious distinction 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 had undertaken 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 PDM KK KP1736