294 die of Japanese Encephalitis in UP

Gorakhpur, Sep 26 (UNI) The vector-borne deadly Japanese Encephalitis (JE) toll in eastern Uttar Pradesh today reached 294, following the death of five more children today.

The fresh casualties were reported from two in Deoaria and one each in Gorakhpur, Basti and Sant Kabirnagar district.

Official sources said so far, 1,553 JE patients had reported at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College here and other district hospitals in the division, of which 294 had died.

Today, nine fresh JE cases had come to light.

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.

Last year, JE had killed almost 1,000 people in UP, while the scourge has already killed several thousands of people in the region over the last decade.

UNI JAS SV AS1830