Japanese encephalitis (JE) continued to claim lives of children in eastern Uttar Pradesh [UP], with the toll mounting to a staggering figure of 227, following 12 more deaths today [29 Sep 2007].
Official sources said since January 2007, over 1381 JE patients had been admitted at the famous Baba Raghav Das Medical College here [at Gorakhpur] and at several district hospitals, of which 227, including 29 Biharis and one Nepali, succumbed.
The JE patients trickle in from Gorakhpur, Deoria, Maharajganj, Sant Kabrinagar, Kushinagar, Ballia, Gonda, and Balrampur districts of UP.
Gorakhpur has the dubious distinction of being the JE epicenter in the region. The epidemic [emerging from endemic maintenance - Mod.TY] affects eastern UP during [the] monsoon every year. Last year [2006], the killer disease had taken almost 1000 people.
The government undertakes a massive vaccination drive against the vector-borne disease every year; however, the efficacy and penetration of the drive comes under a cloud with the mounting toll.
Date: Sat 29 Sep 2007 Source: NewKerala.com [edited]
JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS in INDIA
