Published Date: 2013-07-31 15:36:20
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Japanese encephalitis & other – India (12): (UP)
Archive Number: 20130731.1856438
JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS AND OTHER – INDIA (12): (UTTAR PRADESH)
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Date: Wed 31 Jul 2013
Source: The Times of India [edited]
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/One-more-dies-of-encephalitis/articleshow/21494687.cms
One more death due to encephalitis on Monday night [29 Jul 2013] raised the death toll to 88 this year [2013, in Gorakhpur, eastern Uttar Pradesh state]. A one and a half year old girl, a resident of Padrauna, Kushinagar, died due to encephalitis on Monday night.
Moreover, 8 patients of the deadly disease were admitted to the hospital within the last 24 hours. At present, 37 encephalitis patients are getting treatment at the hospital.
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[Eastern Uttar Pradesh state has been a hot spot for encephalitis, often termed acute encephalitis syndrome, with many of the cases hospitalized in Gorakhpur. As is usually the case for reports of encephalitis cases in India, the etiologies of these cases is not given. Sometimes all these cases are attributed to Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) infections, sometimes just a lesser proportion of them, and sometimes none of them. Without knowing the specific etiology or etiologies of these encephalitis cases, targeted control measures will not be possible. Fortunately, the effective JEV vaccine provides an opportunity for prevention of some of these cases if applied before the main transmission season arrives. However, the transmission season is well under way in Uttar Pradesh. No mention is made in the report above as to whether such vaccination campaign is planned or if any of the cases were vaccinated.
Comment: I remember Emergency wards in PGI, Chandigarh full of Acute Encephalitis patients every year in September. I had the privilege of attending a fantastic lecture on managing AES – acute encephalitis syndrome – in a primary care setting without even the need to know how to set up an IV line ! This is what India needs, rather than more super specialty hospitals….
Read more here
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