Nitish faces protest at Mzp hospital; AES toll at 133

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday faced huge protest during his visit to Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur. Nitish had gone to the North Bihar district to get first-hand information about deaths of 133 children, who passed away due to suspected AES (acute encephalitis syndrome) in the last one month.

“Go back Nitish. You have taken two weeks to visit a hospital which is just two-hour journey from Patna,” read some of the placards, while relatives of the deceased staged a protest outside the hospital campus.

Nitish, who was in New Delhi since Friday to attend a Niti Aayog meet on Saturday, returned to Patna on Monday and visited Muzaffarpur on Tuesday after the government put the official death toll to 108.

Before leaving for Muzaffarpur, Nitish held a high-level meeting with Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary, Health, in Patna. Senior officials, doctors and experts reiterated that unlike past, the deaths in 2019 were largely due to hypoglycemia (deficiency of glucose and sugar in the bloodstream), and not due to AES.

The Chief Minister later issued instructions that even private hospitals should provide free treatment to such children afflicted with the mysterious disease. “The Government will reimburse the cost of treatment of such children. Even those who hire private ambulances to reach hospitals (government or private), were entitled to get full reimbursement,” he said.

Nitish, flanked by his deputy Sushil Modi, visited ICU in SKMCH, the hospital where around 300 children are undergoing treatment. Most of these children have complained of high fever.

“Instructions were issued to all the primary health centres (PHCs) to remain equipped with necessary facilities so that children from far off places could be cured on time,” a senior official said.