Japanese Encephalitis death count reaches 348

Gorakhpur, Oct 13 (UNI) The deadly Japanese Encephalitis (JE) toll in Uttar Pradesh touched a staggering figure of 348 after seven more children died in Uttar Pradesh in the last 24 hrs.

According to sources today, the inflow of JE patients continued unabated at the Baba Raghav Das Medical College here.

Sine January one this year, a total of 1,849 people -- including 45 fresh cases -- sufferring from JE, have been admitted at the medical college here, of whom 348, including two of Nepal and 36 of Bihar, have succumbed.

As many as 169 people were still under treatment.

Last year, JE had claimed more than 1,000 lives in UP alone.

JE patients mostly trickle from to Gorakhpur, Deoria, Maharajganj, Sant Kabirnagar, Kushinagar, Basti, Siddharthnagar, Azamgarh, Gonda and Balrampur district of UP. Some cases also pertain to the adjoining districts of Bihar.

The endemic afflicts eastern UP during monsoon every year.

UNI JAS GL KN1850