<p>The children died after reporting high fever followed by convulsions and unconsciousness in Muzaffarpur district late Tuesday.<br /><br />Locals have termed the disease as "chamki ki bimari" and said the symptoms were similar to encephalitis -- a disease that causes inflammation of the brain.<br /><br />However, state Health Minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey said experts were in the process of identifying the disease and it was "not proper to term it encephalitis".<br /><br />Two expert teams -- one from Pune-based National Institute of Virology and another from the union health ministry -- visited a hospital in Muzaffarpur Tuesday where dozens of children are undergoing treatment.<br /><br />"Both teams along with local health officials will also visit the villages where the children have died," Gopal Shankar Shahni, a doctor at the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur, told IANS on telephone.<br /><br />Principal secretary, health, Amarjeet Sinha said the experts would collect samples of animals to identify the cause of the disease.<br /><br />The teams will Wednesday visit Kejriwal Hospital in Muzaffarpur. Over three dozen children are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in Muzaffarpur, Motihari and Patna.<br /></p>
<p>The children died after reporting high fever followed by convulsions and unconsciousness in Muzaffarpur district late Tuesday.<br /><br />Locals have termed the disease as "chamki ki bimari" and said the symptoms were similar to encephalitis -- a disease that causes inflammation of the brain.<br /><br />However, state Health Minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey said experts were in the process of identifying the disease and it was "not proper to term it encephalitis".<br /><br />Two expert teams -- one from Pune-based National Institute of Virology and another from the union health ministry -- visited a hospital in Muzaffarpur Tuesday where dozens of children are undergoing treatment.<br /><br />"Both teams along with local health officials will also visit the villages where the children have died," Gopal Shankar Shahni, a doctor at the Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur, told IANS on telephone.<br /><br />Principal secretary, health, Amarjeet Sinha said the experts would collect samples of animals to identify the cause of the disease.<br /><br />The teams will Wednesday visit Kejriwal Hospital in Muzaffarpur. Over three dozen children are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in Muzaffarpur, Motihari and Patna.<br /></p>