The Centre has constituted a team to probe the outbreak of suspected Japanese encephalitis in Muzaffarnagar district of Bihar that has resulted in the death of 26 children.
The team comprises Dr. S.K. Jain, Joint Director, National Centre for Disease Control (Delhi), B.R. Thapar, Entomologist from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Delhi; and I.P. Choudhary, Senior Specialist (Paediatrics), Safdarjung Hospital. An expert from the Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, who is already in the field with theNational Institute of Virology, Pune team, would also coordinate with the Central team.
The team will leave for Bihar on Tuesday.
Four more deaths were reported from the "unknown disease" in Muzaffarpur district on Monday taking the toll to 26. The disease has now been identified as Japanese Encephalitis which is common in Uttar Pradesh during this season.
Three children died at Kejriwal hospital, while another died at Sri Krishna Medical College Hospital in Muzaffarpur during the past 24 hours. Around 30 children were still being treated at the two hospitals.
The State health department has sent a team of experts from Regional Malaria Research Institute (RMRI) in Patna to the district. The team has collected the blood samples which have been sent to a specialised laboratory in Pune for examination.
