Encephalitis toll in West Bengal touches 83

Fever clinics have been set up in all district and sub-divisional hospitals of the region. The State government had issued a red alert in seven districts of North Bengal and cancelled the leave of hospital staff.

Patients being treated for encephalitis at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital near Siliguri. Photo: Kousik Roy

With six more deaths due to encephalitis reported in the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) over the past 48 hours, the death toll in North Bengal has touched 83 this season.

According to Amarendra Nath Sarkar, the NBMCH Superintendent, more than 65 patients died in the medical college hospital in July.

Director Health Services, B R Satpathi told

The Hindu on Tuesday that of the 83 deaths reported so far, 21 were Japanese Encephalitis cases and the rest suffered from acute encephalitis syndrome.

This year, 341 patients had been affected with the disease, he said. About 40 patients, including a few children, were getting treatment at the NBMCH

The senior health official said that in 2013, the number of people affected with encephalitis was 385, but there were only 70 deaths.

Though Dr. Satpathi said the situation was under control, he said that fever clinics had been set up in all district and sub divisional hospitals of the region and they were functioning.

“The health officers are collecting door-to-door samples in areas where a large number of cases were reported,” he said.

The outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease in the region has been regular since 2011. The State government had issued a red alert in seven districts of North Bengal last week and cancelled the leave of hospital staff.

Representatives of the National Institute of Virology, Pune, were collecting samples from patients.

The symptoms of the disease are high fever and vomiting.

The disease is transmitted to human beings from intermediate hosts like wild birds and pigs.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition and former Health Minister Surjya Kanta Mishra visited the NBMCH and met the patients admitted there.

“The Chief Minister (Mamata Banerjee) is also the State’s Health Minister. She came here (to North Bengal), the Minister of State for Health (Chandrima Bhattacharya) also visited the place. It would have been better if they had come to the hospital and met the patients,” Dr Mishra said.

A section of junior doctors affiliated to the ruling party in the hospital protested in front of the Superintendent of NBMCH, asking why Dr. Mishra along with his associates was allowed into the hospital.