No respite from Japanese Encephalitis in Uttar Pradesh

The toll is likely to go up as hundreds of patients suffering from JE have been admitted to different hospitals, mostly at Gorakhpur medical college where many of them are said to be in critical condition.

The Health Department, as usual, is helpless due to lack of proper diagnostic and treatment facilities and acute shortage of doctors and para-medical staff.
“The situation has assumed alarming proportions…every day five to seven people, mostly children, are dying of JE at Gorakhpur Medical College (GMC) alone,’’ officials here said adding that the figure would rise if deaths at other hospitals were also included in it.

Shocked at the government apathy, the Allahabad High Court on Monday, directed the state government to convene a meeting of the experts within a fortnight to discuss the ways to combat the disease and slammed the officials for not making available specialised treatment to the JE patients.

“Only three out of 68 JE patients who were admitted in the hospitals last month could be treated by the experts,’’ the court said, adding that many posts of experts have been lying vacant for a long time.

“Currently there are 300 JE patients at the Gorakhpur Medical College alone…there are two to three patients on one bed…every day 25 to 30 JE patients are being admitted to the hospital…its very alarming’’, the officials said.

JE claims thousands of lives in the eastern UP districts of Gorakhpur, Basti, Kushinagar, Deoria, Maharajganj, Sant Kabir Nagar and others every year.
Chief campaigner of the Encephalitis Eradication Campaign, Dr R N Singh blames both the centre and the state governments for this situation.