Glare on JE after six deaths in north

TT, Siliguri, March 1: Authorities at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) today said six patients had died there of suspected Japanese Encephalitis or symptoms of it since January.

The number of deaths at the hospital is higher this year as compared to the five deaths that were recorded from January to April last year.

According to NBMCH officials, while one patient from Jalpaiguri died of Japanese Encephalitis (JE), the remaining five died while showing symptoms of the disease that doctors categorise as Acute encephalitis Syndrome (AES).

"There have been six deaths from JE and AES from the period between January 1 and March 1. Of the six, one patient from Jalpaiguri who was admitted in December last year died of JE. The other five patients who were admitted since January have died of AES," an NBMCH official said.

Biswaranjan Sathpathy, the state director of health services, had said after a meeting with health officials of seven north Bengal districts at Uttarkanya on May 26 last year that five JE and AES deaths had occurred in the state from January to April.

"There were five deaths in the state from January to April last year, including four deaths from AES. Of the five, two persons who died of AES were from south Bengal and three patients who died of AES and JE were from north Bengal. If we compare the figures, then the number of patients who died at NBMCH from JE and AES is higher this year than was recorded in the entire state roughly during the same period last year," an NBMCH source said.

The symptoms of JE are high fever, body ache, inflammation of the brain, stiffness of the neck and convulsions. People are infected with JE if they are bitten by the Culex mosquito which transmits the disease after biting pigs and wild birds that are hosts of the virus.

Since January, 17 patients have been admitted to NBMCH with symptoms of the disease. "The six deaths that have occurred this year were among the 17 patients who were admitted to NBMCH with the disease since January," the source said.

Five patients with AES are currently admitted to NBMCH and they include Mampi Gope, a 14-year-old girl from Pradhannagar in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation area. "Their JE test reports are awaited. These patients are from Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Khoribari (in Darjeeling district) and the Siliguri civic area," an NBMCH official said.