Jharkhand on high alert after death toll reaches over 100 in Bihar
With the mounting death toll in Bihar due to acute encephalitis syndrome (AES), Bihar's neighbouring state, Jharkhand is on high alert. The state government has asked the doctors to be prepared for any medical emergency.
Although AES is not a contagious disease, the health ministry of the state wants to make sure that the symptoms do not aggravate in Jharkhand. All the medical colleges, hospitals, institutes, and civil surgeons are asked to remain on high alert to deal with any emergency.
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As a pre-emptive measure, a seminar was held at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi to sensitize the doctors about the AES disease.
Many people from Bihar commute Jharkhand across state borders, especially during summer vacations, there are some chances that the patients unwittingly arrives from Bihar.
According to Dr AK Chaudhary, RIMS, HOD pediatrics, there are no cases of Encephalitis in Jharkhand so far. But the medicos are taking all the measures to ensure that the doctors are ready to attend the cases before AES hit the state.
AES, Japanese Encephalitis or Chamki Fever has claimed more than 100 lives of children in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. The neurological disease causes inflammation of the brain. The purported causes behind the AES outbreak are litchis and heatwave.
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Research shows that litchis contain hypoglycin-A, a toxin that prevents the body from making glucose and affects young children whose blood sugar levels are already low. The toxin affects more when the children consume litchis on an empty stomach, and under conditions of a heatwave.
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