Three more children die in Bihar\, AES toll touches 118

Three more children die in Bihar, AES toll touches 118

Press Trust of India  |  Muzaffarpur (Bihar) 

Three more children suffering from Acute Syndrome (AES) have died here since Wednesday evening, taking the total number of deaths caused due to the outbreak to 118, the district administration said Thursday.

One death was reported from district two days ago.

The total number of AES cases registered since June 1 was 398 at the SKMCH and 154 at Kejriwal hospital, according to figures provided by the district administration.

Uttar Pradesh-based Kafeel Khan, who was suspended last year following the deaths of a large number of Japanese encephalitis-afflicted children at a hospital in Gorakhpur, has landed at the north town to volunteer his service.

The doctor, who has been running a "for all" campaign after being released on bail by the Allahabad High Court, has set up a camp in the town's Damodarpur locality to offer free medical care to patients.

His twitter feed is also abuzz with videos aimed at spreading awareness about the symptoms of brain fever.

-- who had visited the town on Tuesday and issued elaborate instructions to tackle the situation -- is scheduled to hold a high-level meeting in Gaya later in the day.

The meeting is likely to take place after an "aerial survey" of Nawada, Aurangabad and Gaya districts, which have been reeling under an intense heat wave that has claimed more than 80 lives in the state so far.

At the meeting, the will review the measures taken for protecting the people from the heat wave and brain fever, and evaluate the steps initiated for the prevention of Japanese (JE) outbreak, which has been reported from several central districts in the past.

According to experts, unlike JE, AES is not caused by a but by and a toxin found in unripe litchis, which is said to trigger or very low blood sugar levels.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Thu, June 20 2019. 15:45 IST