Encephalitis: 5 more deaths in eastern UP; toll touches 539

Five more children succumbed to Japanese encephalitis here, taking the toll in the viral fever in eastern Uttar Pradesh to 65 since November this year.

The five deaths were reported from Mahrajganj, Kushinagar, Gorakhpur and Siddharth Nagar area of eastern UP.

Twenty-four more patients suffering from encephalitis were admitted to BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, additional director Health LP Rawat said.

The deadly JE fever is caused by a virus found in pigs and is transferred to humans by mosquito bite.

He said a total of 3,065 patients suffering from the Japanese Encephalitis and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) were admitted this year to BRD Medical College and other hospitals of the region and of these 539 have died.