145;Encephalitis killed kids146;

Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Aridaman Singh today said a preliminary inquiry into the death of 75 children in some western UP districts including Saharanpur, Muzzaffarnagar, Bijnore and Moradabad revealed that viral encephalitis and not Japanese encephalitis or dengue was responsible for the deaths. Neither did it happen due to insecticide-poisoning, he said.

A crack team comprising senior doctors from Saharanpur reported after an extensive survey, he said.

Moreover, two scientists of the National Institute of Communicable Diseases, Delhi, Dr Awadesh Kumar and Dr Kalpana Barua, who visited the districts and collected blood samples from patients and animals could not find malaria, dengue or Japanese encephalitis germs, he said. The minister said the Health Department had taken all steps to prevent the disease from spreading to other districts.