Via The Times of India: 18 encephalitis deaths in Dibrugarh this yr. Dibrugarh is a city in northeast India's Assam state.
Dibrugarh: The encephalitis death toll in Dibrugarh district this year has touched 18 even as health authorities are trying to combat the deadly disease. Among the victims, 8 have died of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and 10 of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES).
"Apart from the 18 deaths since January 1, 2015, 86 others have tested positive for the disease. Among them, 38 are JE-positive and 48 AES-positive. We're trying all possible means to control it and are also providing necessary medical treatment to the affected persons," said Amrit Baruah, the joint director of health services, Dibrugarh, on Thursday.
Significantly, all the death cases were from the rural pockets of the district like Nahoroni (4 JE, 4 AES), Barbaruah (3 JE, 3 AES), Lahowal (1 JE, 1 AES), Khowang (1 AES) and Tengakhat (1 AES).
Among those who tested positive for JE, 13 were from Nahoroni, 8 from Tengakhat, 7 from Lahowal, 6 from Barbaruah, 3 from Khowang and 1 from Panitola. Nahoroni again had the most AES positive cases (14) followed by Tengakhat (10), Lahowal (8), Barbaruah (7), Khowang (5) and Panitola (4).
The health department has already sounded an alert and rapid response teams comprising doctors, nurses, ASHA workers and para-medical staff have been formed in every state dispensary, primary health centres, community health centres, first referral units and district hospitals to deal with the situation. Already, 38, 500 long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) and insecticide-treated bed nets (ITBN) have been distributed among the people in disease-prone areas.
The joint director further said the outbreak of JE usually coincides with the monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, which are conducive for mosquitoes to breed. The three months from June to August are the peak period for the disease.
