Encephalitis deaths - India

[emmysue]

Over two dozen children die of suspected encephalitis
India News
http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/...n_children_die_of_suspected_encephalitis.html

Patna, June 19 (IANS) More than 25 children have died of suspected encephalitis and many affected children have been battling for survival in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district for the past few days.

The district administration has sounded a high alert to check the spread of the killer disease. The children reported sudden light fever in the early morning, which was followed by bouts of unconsciousness and convulsion leading to their death.

Civil surgeon Ramnagina Prasad Singh confirmed the deaths of the children due to suspected encephalitis.

Unofficial figures say the number of children to have died of the mosquito-borne disease was high. The viral infection leads to inflammation of the brain.

Muzaffarpur-based S.K. Medical College and Hospital superintendent G.K. Thakur said he had urged health experts in Pune to visit Muzaffarpur to study the cause of spread of the disease and direct district officials on preventive measures.

"The team of experts from Pune will ascertain whether the children died from encephalitis. If encephalitis is proved, they will check to see if it is common encephalitis or Japanese encephalitis," Thakur said.

Singh told IANS over phone that DDT spraying would begin on Monday in the affected areas.

State health department officials said that the World Health Organisation has expressed serious concern over the recurrence of encephalitis in Muzaffarpur this time. This is the third time in seven years that encephalitis has hit Muzaffarpur. Last year over 30 children died of the disease in the district.

A WHO team is likely to visit Muzaffarpur soon to study the cause of the disease and submit a report to the government. "The WHO team will visit affected villages and meet the family members of children who have died," an official said.

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Encephalitis deaths - India

Could it potentially be BF?, re: Nimans comments...very sad

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Encephalitis deaths - India

Over 25 kids die of encephalitis in BiharAdd to Clippings

PATNA: More than 25 children have died of suspected encephalitis and many affected children have been battling for survival in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district for the past few days.

The district administration has sounded a high alert to check the spread of the killer disease.

The children reported sudden light fever in the early morning, which was followed by bouts of unconsciousness and convulsion leading to their death.

Civil surgeon Ramnagina Prasad Singh confirmed the deaths of the children due to suspected encephalitis.

Unofficial figures say the number of children to have died of the mosquito-borne disease was high.

The viral infection leads to inflammation of the brain

 

[Sharpe]

Re: Encephalitis deaths - India

A similar report 100 miles west of here from two weeks ago. Look at the attached picture of the area.

6 children die in spite of vaccination
Rakesh Mohan Chaturvedi
[ Sunday, June 04, 2006 02:58:37 amTIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
RSS Feeds| SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates

LUCKNOW: Six children have died of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) disease during last one week in the seven districts of UP's terai region, even as a massive vaccination drive against the same came to an end on May 31 in the region. All these children had been vaccinated during the drive.

A total of 63,59,239 children were administered the vaccine till May 31, according to the UP Health Directorate. The campaign was started on May 15 in Gorakhpur, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria and Lakhimpur Kheri.

From May 22 onwards, Sant Kabirnagar and Sidharthnagar were also covered by the drive. In the last week of May, three deaths were reported from Kushinagar, two from Gorakhpur and one from Maharajganj.

However, authorities do not consider it failure of the vaccination drive. Director-general medical health B Nath said, "the fact that these children were not well came to light later. They had fever and hence the vaccine did not work."

Though it is clear that after the onset of the disease the vaccine would be ineffective, so the doctors cannot be absolved of carelessness.

After the death of 900 children last year due to JE, the government is not taking any chances, Nath said. The Union government did lot of research in the beginning of this year and decided to buy Chinese vaccines.

The Japanese and Korean vaccines were also considered as these countries are also fighting against this disease, which affects only children aged up to 15 years, he added.

About the efficacy of the Chinese vaccine, Nath said, "these vaccines have been tested in Thailand and other countries and it was found that they are not harmful."

The doctors, related to the drive, argue that death of six children out of more than 63 lakh vaccinated does not indicate at ineffectiveness of the vaccine.

They add that no vaccine ensures 100% safety. This is the first time that a foreign vaccine is being tried; till now vaccine made in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh was being used.

However, the Kasauli lab failed to meet the requirement as it could produce only 2 lakh vaccines.

The state government feels that there is still a shortage of JE vaccines. For the first phase, which got over on May 31, 73 lakh vaccines were ordered.

Chief minister has already sent a letter to the Centre, asking for another 50 lakh vaccines. Meanwhile, principal secretary (health) Arun Mishra declared that second phase of vaccination will begin soon.

 

[Niko]

NOT JE in Lucknow...

NOT JE in Lucknow...

Virus sets alarm bells ringing
[ 4 Aug, 2006 0338hrs ]

LUCKNOW: Unlike Arbo-B, the virus which caused Japanese Encephalitis (JE) in the eastern belt of UP, a new scare has set the alarm bells ringing across the state medical health and family welfare department.

The new killer, which doctors at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) believe might be a variant of the Entero virus, the virus which causes polio, has taken toll of 51 lives since January besides, making over 270 children sick.

Taking lessons from the death of 51 children, the state medical and health directorate (SMHD) on Thursday directed SGPGIMS to send a team of doctors to Gorakhpur and Basti divisions and find out the cause which has left over 270 persons sick.

The department has called for help from the National Institute of Virology, Pune, besides alerting all government hospitals and peripheral units in the area.

Talking to media persons, director general, medical and health, Dr B Nath, said, "the team which will be headed by microbiologist Dr TN Dhole will collect serum samples from patients admitted in Gorakhpur's BRD Medical College to analyse and find out the type of virus which is taking a toll of human life. They might also collect samples from the body including brain to carry out biopsies."

Significantly, the doctors at SMHD are sure that the virus is not that of JE. It is either a mutant or something else. The view finds a support from the fact that out of the 32 samples collected in May, not a single confirmed presence of Arbo-B virus.

A joint director at state infectious diseases cell, SMHD, revealed that a Government of India and WHO joint team also visited Gorakhpur's BRD medical college to take stalk of the situation in the last week of July.

They also collected serum samples none of which tested positive for JE. When contacted, Dr Dhole told TOI, "On the basis of my observations, I think that it is the Coxsackie-B virus which is the killer this time.

It is being confused with JE mainly due to similarity of symptoms. But the harm caused by this virus is far less than that caused by Arbo-B.

Its death rate is also low. It is treatable and a person can return to his normal life with timely medical intervention."

It may be noted that JE has been a killing hundreds of children in the eastern belt of the state since the time it was first spotted, 27 years ago.

In 2005 a national immunisation programme was organised to protect children from the disease the survival rate in which just 20 per cent. Under this, anti-JE vaccines were administered to children in five of 29 affected districts.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1849985.cms

"Its death rate is also low..."

51 out of 270

 

[emmysue]

Re: Encephalitis deaths - India

Eastern UP?s killer virus is Coxsackie
Lucknow, August 18
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_1772075,0015002500000005.htm

THE MYSTERY virus that has claimed the lives of 88 children in eastern UP has been identified as the Coxsackie virus. The lethal virus has already afflicted 487 children.

After a fortnight-long study and laboratory tests of the samples of patients, experts at the Sanjay Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), under the guidance of professor in microbiology department, Dr TN Dhole, finally identified the virus that killed children in 12 districts of the State.

Director-general, Medical Health, Dr B Nath, said the team from SGPGIMS had collected 33 samples in Gorakhpur for laboratory tests.

During the tests, the experts found that 28 samples contained coxsackie- B virus and only four samples tested positive for Japanese Encephalitis.

According to Dr Dhole, coxsackie virus belonged to the enterovirus family of viruses. It lived in the human digestive tract and spreads from person to person. Water and food contaminated with the faeces of infected person generally led to spread of the virus from one person to another, he said.

Following the identification of the new virus, the State Health Department has urged the Union Medical Health and Family Welfare Department to dispatch its team to east UP to conduct a study and suggest measures to combat the new virus. According to sources, a-team from the National Institute of Virology, Pune, would visit Gorakhpur on August 20 to conduct a study.

Meanwhile, the report on the new virus has put the Medical Health Department officials on the defensive.

?We prepared ourselves to fight Japanese Encephalitis and have already vaccinated around 70 lakh children in six districts, but the report of the new virus has put the whole exercise on hold,? an officer of the Health Department official.

?There is no vaccine to provide immunity from the coxsackie virus.

Moreover, the drugs prescribed to the patients are costly. The majority of the patients come from the poor strata of society and they can hardly afford the drugs imported from the United States?, said another official.

 

[Niko]

Re: Encephalitis deaths - India

Eastern UP?s killer virus is Coxsackie
Lucknow, August 18
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/5922_1772075,0015002500000005.htm

THE MYSTERY virus that has claimed the lives of 88 children in eastern UP has been identified as the Coxsackie virus. The lethal virus has already afflicted 487 children.


Director-general, Medical Health, Dr B Nath, said the team from SGPGIMS had collected 33 samples in Gorakhpur for laboratory tests.

During the tests, the experts found that 28 samples contained coxsackie- B virus and only four samples tested positive for Japanese Encephalitis.

The whole article should be read, but I wanted to comment on the above statements: 28 positive samples does not translate to finding a cause for 487 viral infections.

New article out today:

180 kids die of brain fever in UP

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.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200609270310.htm