Expert glare falls on disease - High-level team collects blood samples of suspected encephalitis patients SUMI SUKANYA

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1111121/jsp/frontpage/story_14777364.jsp

Congress workers, with copies of The Telegraph report on the encephalitis outberak, burn the effigies of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey in Gaya on Sunday. Picture by Suman Patna/Gaya, Nov. 20: A high-level team of doctors and scientists today visited the paediatrics ward of Anugrah Narayan Medical College and Hospital (ANMCH) in Gaya and scanned the case records of children suspected to be suffering from Japanese and acute encephalitis. Its members also inspected the treatment methods on the concluding day of their three-day investigation. The team of members from Delhi, Pune and Patna was in Gaya to carry out on-the-spot study of raging encephalitis. Dr Yogesh Gurav, a scientist from National Institute of Virology, Pune, collected blood samples of over 20 patients and cerebrospinal fluid from a few of the victims of the disease for investigations. Dr Ajoy Kumar Ravi, the head of the department of paediatrics at ANMCH, told The Telegraph: "The high-level team came up with several technical suggestions during the visit. Its members asked us to learn how to operate ventilators so that they can be used to save lives. Though we are short-staffed, we will definitely try to use the life-saving machines in the interest of the patients." He said the team advised the doctors of the medical college to use anti-convulsing drugs through rectal-injection rather than administering them through veins. "They gave us many such technical advices. These will help us treat the patients better," Ravi added. Officials in the state health department said the team sent by the Union government visited several villages in Gaya and Nawada districts, from where the outbreak of the deadly disease has been reported. ANMCH has registered deaths of 85 patients suffering from Japanese or acute encephalitis in the past three months. Total 389 patients suffering from the diseases have been admitted to the hospital so far. No fresh case has been reported after Thursday, a medical official said. "We are constantly monitoring the situation from the headquarters and ensuring that all the required help reaches ANMCH to handle the situation," a senior health department officer said. The raging encephalitis issue took a political twist today with a host of Congress activists demonstrating with The Telegraph report "Cure-less orphans of neglect", published in its November 19 edition. They also burnt the effigy of chief minister Nitish Kumar. "The Telegraph report has rightly highlighted the government apathy, which resulted in loss of so many precious lives. Even now, it is not serious on the issue. The hospital lacks trained personnel and resources to deal with the encephalitis outbreak. The government's claim that fogging was being carried out in affected areas was white lie. Nothing was done in reality. We demand that the government regains its senses now," said Vijay Kumar Mithu, the former secretary of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee, who led the group of agitators. A day after this newspaper published the report, health department principal secretary Amarjeet Sinha said yesterday that plans were afoot to set up paediatric Intensive Care Units (ICUs) at ANMCH and Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital, Muzaffarpur in the wake of the huge number of suspected Japanese encephalitis and acute encephalitis syndrome cases reported in the two health hubs in recent times.

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