Bihar: Brain fever kills 30 kids, govt seeks expert help

Patna: More than 30 children have lost their lives in Muzaffarpur and adjoining districts due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and brain fever.

Alarmed over the rising death toll, the state government has constituted a team of experts to find reasons behind the epidemic in these areas. Officials said that a seven-member team has been constituted to take stock of the condition prevailing in Muzaffarpur and other adjoining districts.

As per an assessment, the killer disease has taken around 12 districts in its grip especially Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Sheohar and East Champaran. However, Muzaffarpur has been declared as the worst affected zone with a maximum number of deaths being reported from the region.

Highly-placed sources in the government said that officials have been asked to keep a tab on the situation and also ensure proper medical facilities in the affected districts.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, while reviewing the situation earlier, had emphasised the need for creating awareness among people.

“Experts have been asked to monitor the situation and also launch an awareness drive to inform people about the symptoms of the disease in the affected areas. People should not let their children sleep on an empty stomach”, Nitish Kumar had said.

However, after initial study of the symptoms, the health department on Wednesday claimed that a maximum number of children who lost their lives in Muzaffarpur was suffering from hypoglycemia related disease (caused by the low level of blood sugar and glucose) and not AES.

“26 children died till Tuesday and around 80 per cent of them were victims of hypoglycemia and not encephalitis,” health secretary Sanjay Kumar told reporters in Patna.

The health department has also asked the officials to distribute ORS packets among the children to maintain blood sugar level before going to bed.

Dismissing state government’s official figures, sources from Muzaffarpur told this newspaper that more than 100 children with suspected AES cases were admitted to Sri Krishna Medical College, Hospital (SKMCH) and Kejriwal Hospital for treatment in the last ten days.