Encephalitis suspected as over 110 children die in India's Bihar state

Hospitals in India's Bihar state are struggling to overcome the outbreak of suspected encephalitis that has killed more than 110 children in the past two weeks.

The state, home to 100 million people, is facing its worst-ever heat wave this summer, complicating the situation.

The death toll from the suspected encephalitis has risen to at least 113 in Bihar this year, officials said on Wednesday. While 93 children have died at state-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital, the remaining 20 died at other hospitals. So far, 440 cases of suspected encephalitis have come to light this year.

Doctors treating the affected children describe the disease as acute encephalitis syndrome, which causes inflammation of the brain. Symptoms include sudden fever, headache, disorientation, tremors, convulsion, vomiting and paralysis.

Most of the deaths have been reported in and around Muzaffarpur, a north Bihar city famous for litchi fruit. Health officials said most of the children have died from low blood sugar, adding that the disease had struck mostly young children who are severely malnourished.

In the past nine years, the disease has claimed 474 lives in the state, though it is yet to be fully identified and brought under control. A significant feature of the disease is that it strikes during summer and turns deadlier as the heat rises.

"This year has seen the worst outbreak of the disease," said Gopal Shankar Sahni, head of the pediatric department at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital, on Tuesday. "The majority of the children brought to hospitals suffered convulsions with high fever and died of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar."

Some families of victims are concerned about health management in the treatment of children.

"I had admitted my child to the pediatric intensive care unit of the government hospital in Muzaffarpur on Sunday after she reported high fever and convulsion," said Mala Devi, the mother of one victim. "The very next day, the doctors suddenly shifted her to the general ward, although her condition remains critical."

Ghuran Ram said: "I got my son to the hospital on Sunday after he suffered from high fever and vomiting, but after barely a few hours, he was declared dead. Children are dying in the absence of proper treatment."

Federal health minister Harsh Vardhan, who is a doctor, and his deputy, along with the Bihar health minister and other senior health officials, visited Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital for on-site verification of the situation on Sunday.

TV news channels showed distraught parents sitting next to semiconscious children in hospital beds, wiping their faces with cold water. Some broke down when asked about the condition of their children, and they told how the youngsters suddenly fell ill while playing outside.

The state government announced on Tuesday the formation of a team of experts to look into the socioeconomic conditions of the victims' families.

"The team will study the nutrition, hygiene habits and home environment to bring the disease under control," Nitish Kumar, Bihar's chief minister, announced after holding a meeting with officials.

Kumar also said the Bihar government will pay for the treatment of all encephalitis-affected patients.

Meanwhile, the state's health department issued an advisory urging parents to prevent their children from playing in the sun during the hot summer. "Most deaths have occurred this year due to hypoglycemia, resulting from high heat, humidity and no rain in the affected areas," Bihar health secretary Sanjay Kumar told the media.

Federal minister Vardhan announced the establishment of a state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary research unit and a full-fledged pediatric intensive care unit with a minimum of 100 beds at Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital to tackle the disease.

At the same time, he asked the state government to strengthen primary healthcare centers and ensure the availability of glucose meters to measure children's blood sugar levels.