43 children die as encephalitis revisits Vidarbha

However, such medical assistance is far too rare in this region. Fourty-three children have succumbed in Vidarbha in the last month to the encephalitis virus. Just as many may have died the previous year too.

On their part, the state machinery is scrambling for cover. They are not even ready with the list of casualties, forget about the reason for the deaths. Initially, it was supposed to be Japanese encephalitis (JE). Now they say they don’t know for sure. ‘‘We are still studying, more samples are being tested again,’’ the state’s Director-General of Health Subhash Salunke said.

A couple of days back, health officials had attributed the outbreak to unhygienic surroundings, especially the presence of pigs in large numbers. However, many of the deaths have occurred in far-flung villages, which do not have pigs at all and are cleaner than expected.

The consensus is now veering around to the ubiquitous paddy fields, which offer a good breeding ground for the Culex mosquito, whose bite causes brain fever that can kill in a day.

Given that such cases have been recorded periodically in the region for the last three years, the administration has had enough warning. Last year, for instance, four cases in Bhandara tested positive for JE. Little has changed within the State Health Department since then.

‘‘Last year too, the incidence was much the same and the toll comparable to this year’s,’’ a health official told The Indian Express. Salunke, however, puts last year’s death toll at 28. Incidentally, like this year, a team from the NICD visited the region last year too. Obviously, the deaths have become public this year because of media focus.

The department’s defence is it has spent crores on awareness campaigns to counter malaria and other diseases. To boot, the state has been implementing a village awareness drive for some time now. But little seems to have been done to arm villagers in the fight against encephalitis, a far deadlier disease which kills if not treated fast.

In the absence of prevention and awareness campaigns, parents tend to think of it as just another form of fever, and by the time they rush the child to the nearest primary health centre, it would be too late.

Of the total 104 cases detected in and around Nagpur, Yavatmal, Wardha, Gadchiroli, Chandrapur and Bhandara, 22 children are still lying in hospitals but said to be ‘‘out of danger’’. Nagpur leads the table with 18 deaths, seven of them within the city itself, followed by Chandrapur (12), Bhandara (8), Wardha (4) and Gondia (1). Surprisingly, Gadchiroli, prone to malaria outbreaks, has no cases.

Health officials are finally beginning to wake up to the scale of the problem. ‘‘We have told all officials concerned to use every possible medium of mass communication to drive home the message,’’ Salunke said. Asked if prevalence is confined to the Nagpur region, Salunke said, ‘‘we haven’t had any reports so far, but we are checking at Amravati, Sindhudurg, Thane, Sangli and Buldana.’