Journalism of Courage
Premium
This is an archive article published on June 16, 2019
Bihar: AES toll 73, Health Minister to visit today
AES affects the central nervous system, mostly in children and young adults. It starts with high fever, then hampers neurological functions causing mental disorientation, seizure, confusion, delirium, coma.
3 min read
The death toll due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) has risen to 73 in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district. (File)
The Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) toll rose to 73 at two Muzaffarpur hospitals on Saturday, a day before Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan is scheduled to visit the district. Meanwhile, the medical superintendent of Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) — which has reported 58 deaths — alleged the Union health minister had not fulfilled promises made to the hospital in 2014. This was the year that Bihar had reported 120 AES deaths, and the maximum were from SKMCH.
SKMCH Medical Superintendent Dr S K Shahi told The Indian Express: “I do not know the exact amount due to be sanctioned to the hospital for better AES preparedness, but there has been no major construction at the hospital. Central assistance should reflect in some concrete work.”
Explained
No long-term plan yet to tackle issue
Every time there is a spurt in AES in Muzaffarpur, state and central government talk of big changes such as setting up devoted laboratories and children’s wards at SKMCH, which gets the most AES patients. Once there is good rainfall and cases subside, it is back to status quo in the system. Although Muzaffarpur has been reporting AES cases since 1995, there have been no long-term plans for augmentation of health services and nutrition supplement programmes to address hypoglycemia, which is cited to be the reason for most deaths this year.
Harsh Vardhan, who was also Union health minister in 2014, had spoken of adequate central assistance after his visit to the Muzaffarpur hospitals.
Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey, however, said: “I have no idea about the specific amount of work assured to SKMCH in 2014, but the central government has been helping in constructing seven paediatric ICU.” He said the Union health minister would be in a better condition to talk about AES and central assistance. He also said they had been running awareness programmes.
Asked about pre-emptive measures the health department was taking to counter AES, Pandey said: “We are following standard operating procedure to treat AES.” On steps to check hypoglycemia, he said: “Integrated Child Development Services has been running nutrition programmes through anganwadi. Our immediate objective is to ensure parents’ awareness to ensure children do not sleep without food at night and wear proper clothes and avoid going out in the sun.”
SKMCH and Kejriwal Matrisadan have reported 62 and 11 AES deaths, respectively, so far. While SKMCH has registered 178 patients since January, Kejriwal Matrisadan has registered 72 AES patients since June. Seventy-seven patients are under treatment at these hospitals.
Advertisement
Loading Taboola...
Live Blog
Top Stories
Advertisement