Encephalitis rages in large parts of North and East India, claims over 1,300 lives

Encephalitis, the deadly virus disease now raging in large parts of North and East India, has claimed over 1,300 lives so far. When it was first reported in West Bengal in May this year; the Health Ministry officials at the Centre took it lightly. In the next few months, over 500 people died. By lune, the killer disease had moved to the neighbouring state of Assam and other hilly tracts in north-eastern India, taking 300 lives.By mid-October, it spread to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. In the following three weeks, it infected 27 districts in the two states. More than 690 people have succumbed to it. Although, the official figure of deaths in five months is about 1,300. unofficial estimates put the number of deaths even higher.As the disease spread rapidly from the eastern districts to the Himalayan foothills panic mounted. The Government moved swiftly. The public health departments and specialists from the World Health Organization (WHO) have been working round the clock to check the epidemic. The officials are, however, cautioning against too much panic. Said a joint secretary in the Ministry of Health: "Encephalitis has existed in endemic form in India for years. Sporadic cases are being reported all the time. So there is nothing to worry about."The present outbreak, emphasized the Director General of Health Services, B. Sankaran is not an epidemic. The attack rate is only four in 1,00,000 which he says, definitely does not conform to epidemic proportions. But there is an unusually high mortality rate among the affected persons - from 18 to 90 per cent. This year West Bengal has reported a death rate of over 50 per cent while in Uttar Pradesh it has been between 25 and 30 per cent.Symptoms: Encephalitis is identified as a group of acute inflammatory diseases of short duration (from 2-16 days) which affects parts of the brain, spinal cord and meninges. There are 31 varieties of encephalitis, the signs and symptoms of which are similar. But they vary in intensity. They cause high fever, headaches, convulsions, stiff neck and finally coma. Its symptoms are akin to malaria. This has caused a lot of confusion.A team of doctors in Uttar Pradesh recently isolated the virus and identified the disease as the Japanese B-type of encephalitis. The virus breeds in birds, fowl, pigs and cattle. It is transmitted to man by the culex vishnui mosquito. Treatment is symptomatic and includes intake of high calorie nutrition. Antibiotics are used to prevent secondary infections, while the administration of Mannitol reduces pressure on the brain. A complete recovery, however, takes months and requires intensive rehabilitative care. But quite often the patient is left with some abnormality, physical or mental.A vaccine produced in Japan provides immunity of sorts, particularly in children below the age of five. Because of the severe outbreak this year, the Government has decided to manufacture the vaccine at the Haffkine Institute in Bombay with the technical know-how from Japan. In the meantime, 87,000 doses at a cost of $174,000 (Rs 13.9 lakh) are being imported. Later an additional 1,20,000 doses will be imported for research purposes.The Campaign: The main thrust of the anti-encephalitis campaign, however, is to kill the mosquito which is responsible for spreading the fatal disease. Large scale spraying of Malathion and Gammaxene is being carried out over the affected areas and near breeding places of the mosquito. The Government has ordered 18 ultra-low volume fogging machines, each costing $15,000 (Rs 1.20 lakh) for this purpose. The Centre has sent liaison officers to affected districts to supervise the spraying operations. A vigorous anti-mosquito drive has also been launched at Sonepur, Bihar, where Asia's largest cattle fair is being held. Cattle are one of the main carriers of the encephalitis virus.The Director General of Health Services emphasized the importance of public awareness and cooperation in controlling the mosquito population. He said: "The people must learn to help keep water tanks and drains clean, to prevent puddles from forming, and to remove water hyacinths from their paddy fields. All these are places where the culex mosquito breeds."Meanwhile, encephalitis continues to rage. It has now spread to several more states. Haryana has reported four deaths, Orissa two. Health authorities in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are on the alert and people coming from infected areas are being stopped from entering these states.An unusual and the worrying feature of this year's outbreak, say experts, is that it has occurred after the monsoons. Encephalitis is usually observed during the monsoon periods when the mosquito population is at its peak. But the continuing mosquito menace is perhaps due to the floods which affected almost the whole of North and East India.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Mar 28, 2014 14:19 IST--- ENDS ---

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Encephalitis rages in large parts of North and East India, claims over 1,300 lives

Encephalitis, the deadly virus disease now raging in large parts of North and East India, has claimed over 1,300 lives so far.

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