In disease season, some new steps, one old obstacle

The encephalitis season has peaked again in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the Centre has stepped up research and the UP government has sanctioned funds for a long-term treatment plan. Yet the original problem remains — identifying the exact virus behind a syndrome that sees patients testing negative for Japanese encephalitis, but which has been killing thousands, mostly children, year after year since 2006.

The season usually continues till the middle of October. Around 300 patients, 260 of them children, have already died in UP due to what has come to be known as acute encephalitis syndrome, or AES. Over 2,100 cases of patients with such symptoms have been registered from eastern Uttar Pradesh; 125 of these later turned out to be of Japanese encephalitis, which has caused 14 of the 300 deaths. Bihar has had 130 cases with 33 deaths. There have been 800 cases and 130 deaths of patients from Assam, too, but about half those cases have been of Japanese encephalitis, which is preventable by vaccination.

Experts of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, have taken samples of cerebral spinal fluid from AES patients from all three states.

For UP, Chief Minister Mayawati has announced the construction of a separate, 100-bed special ward for Japanese encephalitis at BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, sanctioning Rs 18 crore. For now, an 80-bed ward at the hospital has been reserved for AES/JE cases, eight ventilators worth Rs 2 crore will be acquired, and Rs 2 crore has been sanctioned for strengthening of the pediatric ward, with diploma seats in the medical college’s child health department raised from three to ten. The government has also ordered installation of more hand-pumps for clean water in affected areas.