The Centre and Bihar Government will undertake a special vaccination drive immunising children in select districts of Bihar affected by the killer Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) on June 22 and 23 but concerns about its effectiveness will still remain as no vaccine has been developed so far to treat the mysterious virus strain causing the deadly AES among kids in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and now spreading even in Assam and West Bengal.
Despite many years of investigation, researchers have so far failed to isolate the virus, or any other agent responsible for causing it. AES is a severe case of encephalitis characterised by inflammation of the brain. Mosquitoes transmit the infection, causing high fever among the children The AES has till date claimed over 100 children in Muzaffarpur district alone in Bihar and it is spreading in other districts such as neighbouring Vaishali, Samastipur, Sitamarhi, Sheohar and East Champaran from where cases have started pouring in.
Union Minister for Health, Harsh Vardhan said, “Our Ministry staff will work in tandem with their counterparts in the States to identify the most vulnerable districts within a day and the actual immunisation will take place over June 22 and 23.”lS Chauhan, Director of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention told The Pioneer that they are yet to ascertain what triggers the deadly disease which attacks children under ten years age and that too during summer. The cases subside with the onset of monsoon.
“Scientists of the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta along with NCDC and National Institute of Virology, Pune have been researching to diagnosis, treatment and surveillance of the disease for the last three years,” said Chauhan.He said till the strain is investigated, adequate timely medical help is the need of hour.
An official from the Ministry said that a lot is yet to be done at the ground level by the State Governments. He said, for instance, the MOU is yet to be signed between Bihar Government and Centre for setting up a national virology lab at Muzaffarpur which has reported highest number of cases so far.
While the number of patients is swelling every day, it's only recently that a paediatrics ICU has been sanctioned at Sri Krishna Memorial Medical College (SKMCH)-Muzaffarpur. The official was also concerned that despite deaths becoming a regular annual affair and many becoming disabiled, the basic health infrastructure and hygiene remained inadequate.
A sample study by doctors from AIIMS Patna, led by its medical superintendent GK Singh, observed that low education level of parents, agricultural based occupation, traveling by public transport mode, washing hands without soap after defection, litchi orchard in the vicinity of households and Children living in households having mud plastered house was found to be significantly associated with the risk of AES.
The doctors concluded that AES with case fatality of about 28 per cent is very fatal disease, mainly affecting children of resource constraint people. Only raising the basic standard of living can alleviate the problem significantly, they said.