Govt panel to probe suspected JE death

BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has constituted a five-member team of specialists to probe into the alleged death of a child due to Japanese Encephalitis (JE). The 9-year-old girl from Bhusandhapur area of Khurda had allegedly succumbed to the disease while undergoing treatment at a private hospital here a few days ago.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Pratap Jena said though no death due to JE was reported in the State last year, one child is suspected to have died in the deadly disease and two are affected in the first week of the month.

A team of five doctors has been formed and they have already begun investigation to ascertain the cause of death. It is not yet confirmed whether the child died of JE or other complications. The probe report is awaited,” he said.

The Minister informed that among two other affected children, one has been discharged from hospital while another is under medication and recuperating. “We have vaccinated children below 15 years in 17 districts including Khurda. The team would find out the reasons behind the death, “ he said.

What has put the Health Department in a fix is that the children who have been affected by the vector-borne disease had been vaccinated during the mass vaccination campaign last month. The 9-year-old girl too had taken vaccine in the first week of December.

While 242 children were affected by JE and 42 among them, mostly in Malkangiri district had succumbed to the deadly disease in 2016, no casualty was reported though 65 children were affected last year.

Jena claimed that deaths related to JE and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome could be contained in Malkangiri and other parts of the State last year due to proactive measures as suggested by a panel of experts headed by Dr T Jacob John of Vellore-based Christian Medical College and Hospital.