The disease is said to have occurred when the malnourished children in Bihar consumed raw litchis. Yesterday, a PIL was filed in a court accusing the government of "fake medicine" in hospitals.
Failing to curb the outbreak of the deadly viral disease, Bihar has by now witnessed the death of 144 children to the fatal Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), or, the 'Chamki Fever' as known locally.
Reports from various hospitals in the state indicate the mounting death toll. As many as 117 children have died in Muzaffarpur alone, while the second highest number of deaths were recorded from the Vaishali district, where 12 children have succumbed to the disease. Patna, the state's capital, records the deaths of 2 children.
The disease, which causes an inflammation of the central nervous system, is said to have occurred when the malnourished children in Bihar consumed raw litchis, available at abundance this time of the year, and did not have a proper meal afterward resulting in hypoglycemia at night, a condition caused by sudden drop in blood sugar levels.
Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey said a team that was formed to ascertain the cause of Encephalitis concluded that sleeping on an empty stomach at night, dehydration due to humidity and eating litchi on an empty stomach were some of the causes of the disease.
Yesterday, however, a petition was filed in a court of Chief Judicial Magistrate by Advocate Pankaj against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and others, for supplying "fake medicine" in the hospitals.
The petition claimed that the medicines in the hospitals are prescribed to the patients without getting them tested from central and state laboratories.
It also alleged that the generic medicines provided to the patients have a shelf life of 6 months, however, they are given to the patients one to two years after its expiry.
Further investigations might bring into light the real culprit behind the deaths. It remains to be seen if the killer is litchis, malnutrition, or simply the state's alleged negligence all along.
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