Two more succumb to JE

TWO MORE suspected Japanese Encephalitis (JE) patients died here on Friday. With this, the death toll has risen to 31 in the last four months. Both the patients were residents of Kheeri Darh village of Sahjanwa and were admitted to the district hospital in the wee hours on Friday. While one of them succumbed in the hospital, another died on way to the BRD Medical College.

Taking cognisance of the deaths, chief medical officer Mahendra Nath Yadav has sent a team of doctors to Kheeri Darh village.

In the last 48 hours, as many as 16 suspected JE patients from different districts have reported to the medical college. Moroever, the number of patients admitted to the hospital over the last four months has reached 223. At present, 69 persons are undergoing treatment in wards number 6 and 9.

The medical college authorities have sent the serum of 40 suspected JE patients for investigation to Lucknow. Out of these, 11 cases have been confirmed to be JE.

Despite mass anti-JE vaccination, the inflow of patients has put the medical authorities in a tight spot.

Besides, it has exposed the hollowness of the much-hyped mass anti-JE vaccination drive and fogging carried out on a large scale.

That apart, the tall claims of distributing the medicated mosquito nets have fallen flat.

Many an attendant has complained that no anti-JE vaccination was carried out in their areas. Subrati, a resident of Turkpatti village of Kushinagar district said his seven-year-old child Faisal was not vaccinated.

Moreover, Chandrabhan Sahni, a resident of Maharajganj and Rajesh, a resident of village Hardahia in Basti district said that no fogging was carried out in their villages.

Principal of BRD Medical College Dr OP Singh said four wards have been equipped to admit the patients in case of any outbreak. On Thursday, one dozen suspected JE patients were admitted to the college. Of these, five had been vaccinated recently.

They have been identified as Suhail (5) of Maharajganj, Jhun Jhun (7) of Deoria, Prince (10) of Gorakhpur, Rahat of Maharajganj and the fifth from Kushinagar district.