Bihar AES toll puts Jharkhand on alert

The Jharkhand government has put all 24 districts of on high alert, directing authorities to keep a close watch on the people coming from affected region.

With rising AES-related deaths in Bihar, the Jharkhand government has directed all hospitals and medical colleges in the state to be on high alert.

With rising AES-related deaths in Bihar, the Jharkhand government has directed all hospitals and medical colleges in the state to be on high alert. (Parwaz Khan /HT PHOTO)

So far, 81 children have died from acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) in Bihar.

The Jharkhand government has put all 24 districts of on high alert, directing authorities to keep a close watch on the people coming from affected region. As pre-emptive measures, the civil surgeons (CS) of all the districts have been asked to keep a watch on the disease, said Jharkhand health secretary Dr Nitin Madan Kulkarni on Sunday.

While lab tests are on to pinpoint the exact cause of the disease, a section of doctors in Bihar suspect that litchi might cause AES. However, Kulkarni, who is also the food commissioner, ruled out banning the supply of Muzaffarpur litchi in Jharkhand markets. “Litchi cannot be [seen as] the reason for the disease, as no scientific evidence has come to the fore so far,” he said.