Bihar: AES is not Japanese encephalitis

The acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) has killed 233 children in Bihar.

Patna: It is official now, the acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) that has killed 233 children in Bihar since May is not Japanese encephalitis, announced Thursday.

The ruling has come from the Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV). "In fact the disease remains a mysterious one," Additional Secretary (Health) R.P. Ojha said. "NIV has told the Bihar government that no one had a positive strain for Japanese encephalitis," he said. According to him, the NIV collected cerebral spinal fluid and blood samples of 73 patients from Muzaffarpur district. Earlier this month, Health Minister Ashwani Kumar Choubey announced that the mysterious disease was AES. Ojha said of the 599 children with AES symptoms admitted to hospitals in Muzaffarpur, Patna and Gaya, 233 have died. IANS