12 kids admitted to hospital in Gaya with AES symptoms, no fresh death

As many as 12 children were admitted to the Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital in Gaya, of which three succumbed during treatment during the last four days.

Even as the situation has somewhat stabilised Muzaffarpur, cases of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Gaya and Aurangabad districts have kept health officials on toes.

Even as the situation has somewhat stabilised Muzaffarpur, cases of acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Gaya and Aurangabad districts have kept health officials on toes. (Parwaz Khan /HT PHOTO)

As many as 12 children were admitted to the Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College and Hospital in Gaya, of which three succumbed during treatment during the last four days. No death was, however, reported during the last 24 hours and at least two patients were released after treatment on Saturday.

The health department has started an immunisation drive to avoid Mujaffarpur-like circumstances here.

Sources said most of the cases in the last four days were reported from five blocks of Gaya district — Dumaria, Bankebazar, Imamgnaj, Aamas and Tankuppa — where villagers depend largely on quacks for treatment.

“The poverty-stricken rural population here has little idea about the AES. Village quacks usually prescribe high-powered drugs even for minor fever, which further causes complications and sometimes leads to fatality,’’ a senior doctor of the ANMCH said.

In a bid to contain the situation, a five-member team of doctors and experts has already been constituted by the health department under the leadership of Dr ME Haque.

“We have launched massive immunisation programme throughout the district, particularly in the affected blocks. Since the disease trend is sporadic and is reported from almost all the blocks of the district, we have focused on all the blocks as part of our preventive measures,’’ Dr Haque said.

“We have already completed 86 per cent immunisation of the district population of the children and aim to cover all very soon. Immunisation alone can reduce the menace by half and we are taking no chances,” he said.

ANMCH superintendent Dr Vijay Krishna Prasad, however, told media persons that they were still not sure if the three children who died has AES. “Although symptoms resemble that of AES, we can confirm only after the final test reports. We have sent blood samples to the Rajendra medical Research Institute (RMRI) for pathological examination analysis to ascertain the kind of the disease,’’he said.

Asked about arrangements at the medical college, he said altogether 30 beds had been created in the ICU where the children were undergoing treatment. “We have adequate rooms and all the required medicines.”