Encephalitis cases up with onset of monsoon

According to reports received by the Medical and Health Department,last year the state recorded 371 cases and 67 deaths from acute encephalitis syndrome (AES),while this year the number of cases has already reached 450 and deaths 77. Similar is the case with JE. Until July 5,2010,the state had seen merely five cases and one death from JE,but this time the number of JE cases is already 20,with three deaths.

The worst affected districts are Gorakhpur with 111 cases and 21 deaths of AES so far,closely followed by Deoria (109 cases and 15 deaths) and Kushinagar (103 cases and 22 deaths). JE cases have also been reported from these three districts along with Basti,Siddharthanagar,Sant Kabir Nagar and Maharajganj.

However,the increasing number of JE and AES cases in the state has become a cause of worry for medical officials who were expecting the immunisation drive and awareness campaign on encephalitis to be fruitful. The government maintains the situation is completely under control. “It is too early to predict anything. The actual picture will emerge only after the monsoon,” said Dr A K Dhawan,director,communicable disease,UP.