Encephalitis deaths: is Litchi the forbidden fruit?

Jun 25, 2019 15:52 IST

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar faced angry protesters as he visited one of the hospitals where children have been dying due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome or AES... These are familiar scenes at the Sri Krishna Medical College where most child deaths have occurred. Helpless, the families of the children are seeking answers. An annual occurrence, in Muzaffarpur, Sheohar, Vaishali, and East Champaran districts, AES has claimed lives of over 140 children this year. Over 400 children have been admitted to hospitals. Over 140 children have died due to encephalitis outbreak in four Bihar districts while more than 400 children are in hospitals. While the medical fraternity debates the cause of the disease, experts agree that majority of deaths until 2005 were caused by Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne virus. But in the past decade or so, children have been dying of other forms of viral encephalitis and the exact cause of which is unclear. Locally known as Chamki Bukhar, the dise