Even as a probe has been ordered into the death of the kids in the BRD Hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur, preliminary results of an ongoing study by a Government's health research agency, has indicated dependence of locals on quacks, poor awareness and sanitation in the region which is battling climbing incidence of Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) - viral infections that affect the brain and lead to coma, death or serious disabilities.
The brief report prepared by Dr Seema Sahay, a senior scientist from National AIDS Research Institute (NARI), Pune has found that locals have preferred to approach quacks as first point of care, had low handwashing habits, were using unsafe water and disposed off waste in the open areas—conditions conducive enough for growth of the mosquito-borne virus JE and AES.
Though the study is being conducted in three blocks each of Gorakhpur and Deoria districts, the Union Health Ministry has made public a preliminary report based on the survey (for a sample of 160 respondents) initiated in Bhathat block in Gorakhpur in February and March this year.
It is sponsored by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Vector Borne Disease Control Program under the Ministry.
The report noted that there is a need to strengthen drinking water treatment to make it safer especially the hand pumps. Of 162 respondents surveyed, 143 (87.2 per cent) used a shallow hand pumps, 90 per cent of these did not use drinking water purification method.
There was no differences observed in the drinking water habits of the respondents during the endline and baseline survey which was also conducted by the ICMR a few years back.
The study is the part of multi-component intervention project of ICMR where in one of the components NARI aims to test an innovative, participatory model for better access to JE/ AES information, screening, and preventive health care for people residing in Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh, said a senior official from the Health Ministry.
The research aims to increase the capacity of local communities to participate in their own preventive health care, establish community structure and build its capacity to provide support for JE prevention and control and actively translate findings to improve uptake of JE immunisation and other prevention and control measures, he added.