Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
180 kids die of brain fever in UP
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200609270310.htm
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200609270310.htm
Gorakhpur (UP), Sept 27. (PTI): As many as 180 children have died of brain fever in and around the town since April this year with no deaths occurring due to Japanese Encephalitis (JE) here during the period, a senior Uttar Pradesh health official said on Tuesday.
Though a total of 53 JE cases had been confirmed here since July, no deaths had occurred due to the disease which had claimed the lives of 1,500 children last year and left an equal number of them mentally and physically affected, Additional Director (vaccination) Jaswant Singh told reporters here.
The exact strain of the virus causing brain fever is yet to be ascertained even as 310 blood serum and cerebral spinal fluid samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, for detection, Singh said adding it would be difficult to prevent the spread of the disease without knowing the type of the virus.
He said four deaths had also occurred due to Coxackie virus in the area, while 61 affected cases had been confirmed since July.
While Japanese Encephalitis is caused by a species of Culex mosquito, the Coxackie spreads through infected water and faecal matters.
Though a total of 53 JE cases had been confirmed here since July, no deaths had occurred due to the disease which had claimed the lives of 1,500 children last year and left an equal number of them mentally and physically affected, Additional Director (vaccination) Jaswant Singh told reporters here.
The exact strain of the virus causing brain fever is yet to be ascertained even as 310 blood serum and cerebral spinal fluid samples have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, for detection, Singh said adding it would be difficult to prevent the spread of the disease without knowing the type of the virus.
He said four deaths had also occurred due to Coxackie virus in the area, while 61 affected cases had been confirmed since July.
While Japanese Encephalitis is caused by a species of Culex mosquito, the Coxackie spreads through infected water and faecal matters.