Bihar: One more child dies due to encephalitis in Muzaffarpur, toll goes up to 154
The state health department’s data showed that 23 out of 40 districts were affected due to the outbreak.
One more child died due to acute encephalitis syndrome on Wednesday, taking the toll in north Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district to 132, officials said. The total number of casualties across the state is now 154, PTI reported.
The child died at the private Kejriwal Hospital, where 165 cases of acute encephalitis syndrome were reported since June 1. Of this, 21 people died.
The Muzaffarpur district administration claimed that no new encephalitis cases or deaths were reported from the government-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital in the past few days. The hospital registered 436 cases and had reported 111 deaths since the beginning of June.
The state health department’s data showed that 23 out of 40 districts were affected due to the outbreak, and the total number of acute encephalitis syndrome cases registered since June 1 was 729. Casualties reported at Muzaffarpur also included children brought for treatment from nearby districts such as Vaishali and East Champaran.
The health department attributed the cause of death in around 120 cases to hypoglycemia, one of the many pathological conditions that fall under acute encephalitis syndrome, according to PTI.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the Centre and the governments of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh to submit affidavits on the steps taken and facilities provided to combat the outbreak. The governments were given seven days to file their replies.
