UP killer brain fever toll 934

Share:

September 29, 2005 23:05 IST

A total of 934 people have died of Japanese encephalitis in Uttar Pradesh since the outbreak of the brain-infecting illness this summer, the state government said on Thursday.

Eastern Uttar Pradesh, where the disease has taken an epidemic form, alone accounts for 785 deaths with Gorakhpur district being the worst hit. Of the 934 deaths, 284 victims hailed from Bihar, 22 from Nepal and one from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Jaiveer Singh said in a letter to Union Health Minister A Ramdoss.

The disease raging in Eastern UP and other parts of the state has affected 4368 people altogether, the letter says.

The Minister urged the Centre to tell Bihar and MP governments and also neighbouring Nepal to take effective steps to check spread of the disease. Additional Director, Health, C M B Tripathi said in Gorakhpur that fresh cases continued to stream into hospitals, adding that as many as 3,364 patients had been admitted to hospitals in Eastern UP so far.

Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav visited Gorakhpur on Wednesday and announced measures to revamp health facilities in the district.

Get Rediff News in your Inbox:
Share: