Author: AP
Publication: The Times of India
Date: November 3, 2019
URL:      https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/steadily-up-is-turning-the-deathly-tide-of-encephalitis/articleshow/71873176.cms?from=mdr

Seven-year-old Aryan Singh could have met the same fate as his cousin, who died seven years ago because the nearest hospital was too far.

When Aryan got low-grade fever in mid-September, his mother initially dismissed, rushing to the hospital only when his temperature shot up overnight.

Doctors hospitalised Aryan after he was diagnosed with scrub typhus, a bacterial infection spread by rats and mites that accounts for 40% of identifiable causes of encephalitis - a potentially fatal brain swelling that is prevalent in parts of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

A vaccine for one strain, Japanese encephalitis, is available, but there is no guard against the strains caused by bacteria. The survival rate is high if treated early. "The boy is on the path of recovery," said Dr K P Yadav, in charge of primary health at the centre.

Acute encephalitis syndrome, including Japanese encephalitis, is caused by several different viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, spirochetes, chemical and toxins. The outbreak coincides with the June-October monsoon season and post-monsoon period when the density of mosquitoes increases. It spreads from pigs to people via mosquitoes, and is easily identified through testing. Nearly 25,000 children in India died from encephalitis since 1978.

Eastern UP experienced India's worst encephalitis outbreak in 2005, with over 1,500 deaths reported at state-run BRD Medical College. But things are changing in UP. Encephalitis cases have dropped sharply because of a new network of rural clinics, doctors and state government officials said.

But a massive immunisation and cleanliness drive in 2017 is sharply bringing down the fatality rate, said CM Yogi Adityanath.

Small hospitals are being set up within 10km of the most disease-prone villages. Over 40 lakh children were given vaccines against Japanese encephalitis between January and March. Last year, 35 lakh children were vaccinated.

The state claims a steady decline in encephalitis fatalities in the last two years. In 2017, encephalitis took 748 lives. The toll dropped to 278 in 2018. Up to August 31, only 38 children had died of the disease. Dr R N Singh said there was no way to verify the government's claims, but a decline was visible.