Muzaffarpur: Three more children have
died due to a mysterious fever in Bihar`s Muzaffarpur
district, taking the toll to 33.
A Central team, meanwhile, took blood samples of the
patients to ascertain the cause of the deaths.
Two children died at Kejriwal Hospital here, while
another died at Srikrishna Medical College Hospital (SKMCH)
here since yesterday, official sources said.
15 children were still undergoing treatment at the two
hospitals, they said.
A seven-member Central team from National Institute of
Virology, Pune and ICMI, New Delhi, comprising of experts
including Union Health Ministry Joint Director S K Jain, B R
Thappa and I P Choudhary visited the SKMCH this morning and
took the blood samples of children affected by the disease.
Jain said the blood samples would be sent to
specialised virology labs in Pune and New Delhi and the
examination report would be made available within a fortnight.
He said the team had advised the SKMCH authorities to
shift the children afflicted with the disease to
air-conditioned ward of the hospital.
Asked if the children were suffering from
encephalitis, he said, "We won`t be able to tell you at
present".
At least 29 children below the age of six years have died
and 35 others hospitalised due to the mystery fever during the
past one week in Muzaffarpur district, officials said, adding
30 others were still being treated at the two hospitals.
The Central team also visited the affected villages and
enquired about the food habits of the affected children from
their guardians besides inspecting the surroundings.
Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad sent the Central
team of medical experts from Pune and New Delhi to Muzaffarpur
following request from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to examine
the patients and work out ways to prevent the spread of
unknown fever.
PTI
