Encephalitis claims nine more lives in eastern U.P.

Nine more children have succumbed to encephalitis, taking the death toll in the viral disease in eastern Uttar Pradesh to 268 this year.

The nine children including three from Gorakhpur, four from Kushinagar and one child each from Deoria and Bihar died at the BRD Medical College Hospital in Gorakhpur, officials said.

As many as 46 patients with symptoms of encephalitis have been admitted to the hospital and two-three children are being treated on a single bed, according to hospital sources.

Of the 1,377 patients admitted this year, 109 have tested positive for Japanese encephalitis.