Toll in Bihar mystery fever climbs to 33

Muzaffarpur, Jun 22: Three more children have died due to a mysterious fever in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, taking the toll to 33. A Central team, meanwhile, took blood samples of the patients to ascertain the cause of the deaths.

Two children died at Kejriwal Hospital here, while another died at Srikrishna Medical College Hospital (SKMCH) here since yesterday, official sources said. 15 children were still undergoing treatment at the two hospitals, they said.

A seven-member Central team from National Institute of Virology, Pune and ICMI, New Delhi, comprising of experts including Union Health Ministry Joint Director S K Jain, B R Thappa and I P Choudhary visited the SKMCH this morning and took the blood samples of children affected by the disease.

Jain said the blood samples would be sent to specialised virology labs in Pune and New Delhi and the examination report would be made available within a fortnight.

He said the team had advised the SKMCH authorities to shift the children afflicted with the disease to air-conditioned ward of the hospital.

Asked if the children were suffering from encephalitis, he said, "We won't be able to tell you at present".

PTI