Acute Encephalitis Syndrome: Nine more children die in Bihar, toll rises to 63
Patna/Muzaffarpur, Jun 14: Nine more children died on Friday in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, which is reeling under an outbreak of brain fever, taking the toll to 63 this month, with officials maintaining the death were due to hypoglycemia.
All the victims have fallen prey to hypoglycemia, a condition caused by a very low level of blood sugar and electrolyte imbalance, they said.
The 63 children died in two hospitals of Muzaffarpur, one of which was visited by state Health Minister Mangal Pandey during the day.
A statement issued by Muzaffarpur district administration said that till 6 pm on Friday, six children died in the state-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) while three died at Kejriwal hospital, which is operated by a trust.
Since June 1, 178 and 72 children were admitted in SKMCH and Kejriwal hospital respectively with suspected cases of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) but most of them were found to be victims of hypoglycemia.
Nine children undergoing treatment at SKMCH are serious, the release said, adding that five children are critical in Kejriwal hospital.
The health minister who held a meeting with doctors and officials at the SKMCH said six more ambulances will be available there from Friday and a 100-bed new ward will be made operational soon.
The Kejriwal Hospital's management also agreed to increase the number of beds if the need arises, he said.
Pandey said creating awareness among the people is needed to prevent the outbreak of the disease.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has already directed the officials concerned to ensure that preventive measures were taken in the affected districts, though deaths have so far been reported from Muzaffarpur only.
Health Department's Principal Secretary Sanjay Kumar had earlier said the disease has affected 222 blocks of 12 districts especially Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Sheohar and East Champaran.
A central government team of experts had visited Muzaffarpur on Wednesday.
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Assam CM flays Cong for 'not verifying' documents before making charges against his family
Sivasagar/Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday slammed the Congress for “not verifying” the documents based on which it brought allegations against him and his family.
Congress leader Pawan Khera had on Sunday alleged that Sarma’s wife, Riniki Bhuyan Sarma, has multiple passports and foreign property, which were not declared in the chief minister’s election affidavit.
Sarma also hit out at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, claiming that he was “speaking like a madman” due to old age, after the latter put the onus on central agencies to probe the charges.
The CM asserted that Khera had “run away” to Hyderabad, but the Assam Police will “hunt him down even from ‘pataal’ (netherworld)”.
“‘Assam Police ko nahi jante hain.. Pataal se bhi ukhar ke le ayega’ (They don’t know the Assam Police... they will hunt him down even from the netherworld),” asserted Sarma.
An Assam Police team had earlier in the day visited the Delhi residence of Khera for questioning him in connection with the case.
“If they didn’t know the truth, why did they put it out in public? They should have asked the foreign minister first,” Sarma told reporters on the sidelines of an election campaign, when asked for his reaction to Kharge’s assertion that the Union government should probe the allegations now.
Kharge, at a presser in Guwahati on Tuesday, said all agencies are under the central government, which should probe the charges.
"They have already filed an FIR against Khera. Let them probe the matter. We will face the case as it progresses. We have sought probes by the ED or CBI into the allegations," he said.
Sarma added: “Kharge is ageing and is speaking like a ‘pagal’ (madman). You insult the people first and then say will ask the foreign minister (for verification)? Is he your ‘damad’ (son-in-law),” the chief minister said.
“I think Rahul Gandhi had given these documents to Khera, and if that is so, the case will then include Gandhi,” he added.
