Encephalitis claims 9 more lives; toll crosses 300 mark

With nine more children succumbing to encephalitis, the death toll due to the disease in eastern Uttar Pradesh has climbed to 301 this year.

The dead include three children from Kushinagar, two from Deoria, and one each from Gorakhpur, Siddharthanagar and Santkabirnagar districts of eastern UP, health officials said on Thursday.

One child from Bihar also died due to encephalitis, they said, adding that 22 persons suffering from encephalitis have been admitted to the BRD Medical College Hospital in the past two days.

This year as many as 1,486 encephalitis patients, mostly children, were admitted to BRD Medical College Hospital, of which 301 died, they said.

Encephalitis usually occurs after the onset of monsoon every year. The disease is caused by mosquito bite and contaminated water. The government has launched sanitation and vaccination programmes in the affected areas.