The primary focus of the survey was the 1,500 families affected by AES in the five blocks of Muzaffarpur in the past 6-7 years
Most of the children who succumbed to acute encephalitis syndrome in Bihar lived in mud houses and were girls. This is the finding of a preliminary survey carried out by the state government.
Following the deaths of nearly 170 kids due to AES, particularly a large number in Muzaffarpur district, the state had ordered a socio-economic study to ascertain the reasons for the huge number of casualties. Earlier, as deaths continued to pile up, state officials kept shifting the blame – from litchis to heat to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
According to the survey, 30% of these families do not even have a ration card. Bihar Health Secretary Sanjay Kumar said, "We are awaiting the detailed report which may reveal some more angles." The primary focus of the survey was the 1,500 families affected by AES in the five blocks of Muzaffarpur in the past 6-7 years.
‘LIVED IN MUD HOUSES’
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- The study found that most of the victims of acute encephalitis syndrome lived in mud houses
- The survey’s focus was the 1,500 families affected by AES in 5 blocks of Muzaffarpur
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One of the intriguing facts is the death of more girls than boys. This correspondent visited two families that lost a girl child. One of them was 4-year-old Suhani Khatun from Mithanpura, Muzaffarpur. "She was alright a day before the incident. She had her dinner but she did not eat litchi. However, her health suddenly worsened and she died in the hospital," said her mother Afsana Khatun.
Afsana said had she have a ration card, her daughter and the family could have benefitted from government welfare schemes. "Maybe that could have helped her," said Afsana, who lives with her husband and two children. A similar fate was shared by Mithanpura's Vinayak Rai. After losing his wife two years ago, he lost his daughter to AES.
"She was completely fine. No one knows what happened," he recalled. Vinayak too denied that the child had eaten litchis. He has an Ayushmann Bharat, government's health scheme, card but does not know how to use it.
Adding to Vinayak's misery, he said that the state government did not give him any compensation.
― Zee Media Newsroom
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