Death toll due to Japanese Encephalitis reaches 12 in Bihar’s Magadh division

Despite a massive immunisation drive and an extensive awareness campaign across the rural pockets of Bihar’s Magadh division, cases of Japanese Encephalitis Syndrome / Acute Encephalitis Syndrome continue to pour in at the Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital (ANMCH).

Over 40 children have so far been admitted to the ANMCH, 12 have succumbed to the disease while four others were discharged after the treatment. Four other patients were taken away by their parents from the hospital to private clinic in Patna. At present, a total of 20 children are undergoing treatment at the ANMCH.

To cope with the growing number of patients, ANMCH has created over 60 beds in the ICU to accommodate more patients. The state government also has deployed at least six more doctors to deal with the situation.

The ANMCH superintendent Dr Vijay Krishna Prasad, however, said that the situation was well under control and the patients have been responding to the drugs positively. He pointed out, that the delayed arrival of the patients to the ANMCH is proving fatal for the patients and stressed the need of awareness among the villagers to cope with the AES/JES menace.