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Bihar govt wakes up, concedes Encephalitis claiming children’s lives in Muzaffarpur

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Bihar govt wakes up, concedes Encephalitis claiming children’s lives in Muzaffarpur

As many as 66 children have died due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar over the past few weeks, said media reports quoting officials.

For days the Bihar government had been denying the fact of the disease, claiming the deaths were caused by low blood sugar – hypoglycaemia. Bihar Minister of Health Mangal Pandey finally admitted that an outbreak of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) had caused the deaths of children, reported Down to Earth (DTE).

Earlier, Pandey had refuted the reports of children dying due to AES in Muzaffarpur and had claimed they had died due to hypoglycaemia. Pandey visited Muzaffarpur12 days after the initial reports of children dying from AES first filtered in on June 1 and 2.

Encephalitis is a viral disease, which causes mild flu-like symptoms such as high fever, convulsions and headaches.

A total of 55 patients died at Shri Krishna Medical College while 11 of them died in private Kejriwal hospital in Muzaffarpur. Till now over 130 have been hospitalised in the district.

District Magistrate of Muzaffarpur on Friday said that for students till class eight, schools will remain closed till June 22 and for students in higher standards, classes will be held only till 10.30 am.

The State government has announced that it will open a new 100-bed ward for children, and six additional ambulances would be deployed for the government-run Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH).

Bihar health minister Pandey had earlier gone to Delhi to meet Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and other officials to discuss the death of children in Muzaffarpur.

“In the last 20-22 days, 57 children — 47 at SKMCH and ten at the privately-owned Kejriwal Maternity Hospital — have died due to AES…We are monitoring all this and have decided to make people aware of AES,” Mr. Pandey told local journalists in Muzaffarpur.

He added, “A team comprising one Professor, three Associate Professors, four Assistant Professors, nine Senior Resident Doctors and 15 Junior Resident Doctors, is monitoring the situation at SKMCH…encephalitis is a viral infection, which causes mild flu-like symptoms such as high fever, convulsions and headaches.”

Meanwhile, reported DTE, the central team visiting Muzaffarpur to inquire into the cause of children’s deaths, has reportedly said that most of the cases reported are due to encephalopathy.

The team has also advised SKMCH to take up research and concentrate on a regular follow-up of patients. There should be a separate research wing under the department of microbiology and pathology and serum samples of patients should be preserved for rechecking, it said.

The team recommended the bed strength of the paediatric ICY at SKMCH be increased from the existing 14 beds to 100.

The sudden epidemic has become a huge cause of concern for the state government with these deaths becoming an annual affair since 1995, said reports. The disease claimed a record 150 lives in 2014.Most children dying of the outbreak of AES belong to economically weaker sections of the society.

Litchi to blame?

Meanwhile, following intense coverage in international media over these deaths and the subsequent blame on the seasonal fruit litchi, the health department in Bihar has now advised families to not feed the fruit to their children in empty stomach in view of the disease assuming endemic proportions.

The authorities have also warned the families of not eat half-ripe or unripe litchis as a precautionary measure. Muzaffarpur is famous for its finest variety of litchi with May and June being the harvesting months for the fruit.

Waiting for rains

Everyone in the affected areas is now awaiting the arrival of the monsoon rains for the AES outbreak to subside.

“We are yet to know the exact reason behind the outbreak. Investigation and research will continue. But one thing is certain: the disease is usually controlled only after the arrival of monsoon rains,” said Gopal Shankar Sahni, head of the paediatrics department at SKMCH.

Sahni was supported by regional additional health director, Ashok Kumar Singh. “The three Hs — heatwave, humidity and hypoglycaemia — are causing the deaths of children, who are suffering from symptoms akin to AES. Rains will reduce the effects of the disease. It has happened in the past too,” Singh said.

But officials of the India Meteorological Department, Patna, said there was little chance of the monsoon entering Bihar this week. “The monsoon’s arrival will be delayed by 10 days,” an official said.

2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Sunita Kejriwal holds maiden Lok Sabha election roadshow in Delhi

Sunita Kejriwal will also hold a road show in West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency on Sunday. AAP party leaders said Sunita Kejriwal will also spearhead the campaign for AAP candidates in South Delhi and New Delhi constituencies as well as in Haryana, Gujarat and Punjab.

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Aam Aadmi Party began its campaign for 3rd phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 on Saturday with Sunita Kejriwal, wife of jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal holding a roadshow in Delhi. In a massive rally, Sunita Kejriwal was be seen standing on a vehicle holding her hands and greeting the people of the area. AAP’s East Delhi candidate Kuldeep Kumar was seen sitting on the vehicle as he showcased a portrait of Rani Laxmibai.

Earlier ahead of Sunita Kejrieal’s roadshow, Kuldeep Kumar told the media that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who worked to provide the best school, and free- electricity to the people of Delhi has been framed in a fake case by BJP. Kumar further added that from today onwards Sunita Kejriwal’s roadshow will start and she is going to seek support and blessings from the Delhi people to continue its fight against the BJP government.

Aam Aadmi Party workers also staged a protest under the banner of Jail ka jawab vote se near Delhi’s Lakshmi Nagar area on Saturday against the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in connection with an excise policy case.

After the Delhi CM’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the liquor policy case in March, Sunita Kejriwal has taken up a more prominent role in campaigning activities for the Aam Aadmi Party. Since the Delhi CM’s arrest, Atishi and other AAP leaders have alleged that the arrest was made so that to the AAP Supremo can be prevented from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections. Arvind Kejriwal has been sent to judicial custody until May 7.

Sunita Kejriwal will also hold a road show in West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency on Sunday. AAP party leaders said Sunita Kejriwal will also spearhead the campaign for AAP candidates in South Delhi and New Delhi constituencies as well as in Haryana, Gujarat and Punjab. She is emerging as a star campaigner for Aam Aadmi Party.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Mallikarjun Kharge says candidates for Amethi, Rae Bareli seats in Uttar Pradesh will be announced in a few days

On being asked about the names of the candidates for Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies Mallikarjun Kharge said the people will have to wait for a few more days. He said when the names of candidates come from people to him and he will sign the notification, then the announcement will be made.

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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday said that the candidates for prestigious Amethi and Rae Bareli seats in Uttar Pradesh will be announced in a few days. He was addressing a press conference where he claimed that though the BJP says the corrupt must be put in jails, when leaders facing corruption charges join the saffron party, they are put on the lap and sent to Rajya Sabha or assembly.

On being asked about the names of the candidates for Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies he said the people will have to wait for a few more days. He said when the names of candidates come from people to him and he will sign the notification, then the announcement will be made.

On being questioned about Congress leaders changing constituencies Kharge asked how many times have Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani changed their seats. His response came when asked about the BJP criticising Rahul Gandhi for fighting the elections from Kerala’s Wayanad instead of Amethi. Referring to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Kharge said the Congress is not affected by people who grew up in the party and left it later.

The Congress president launched an all round attack on the BJP and PM Modi and said the prime minister did not implement even one of his electoral promises and still says Modi did a lot of work for the country. Addressing the press conference he said the BJP never fought for the independence of India, but Congress is a party of those who made India independent. He said the BJP never fought for the independence of India, for the development of India. The Congress President said the BJP speaks so much about patriotism and that the contribution of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri is nothing before them.

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2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Priyanka Gandhi accuses BJP of planning to change the Constitution, criticises PM Modi for inflation

Priyanka Gandhi was speaking at an election rally at Dharampur village of tribal dominated Valsad district held in support of Congress candidate for ST-reserved Valsad Lok Sabha seat, Anant Patel.

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Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi on Saturday said the BJP may be denying it now, but the party will change the Constitution if it returns to power. She targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over inflation and called him the mehengai man.

Gandhi said the BJP leaders and candidates are saying that they will change the Constitution. She said PM Modi is denying it and this is BJP’s tactic. Priyanka Gandhi was speaking at an election rally at Dharampur village of tribal dominated Valsad district, Gujarat held in support of Congress candidate for ST-reserved Valsad Lok Sabha seat, Anant Patel.

Gandhi said first the BJP will deny what they want to do. But after coming to power they will implement it. She further added the BJP wants to change the constitution to weaken the common people and deprive them of their rights given in the Constitution. She said the BJP leaders project the Prime Minister as powerful and say that chutki bajake ladai rukwa dete hai (he can stop the Russia- Ukraine war with the snap of his fingers). She asked why is Prime Minister unable to remove poverty just like that?

Priyanka Gandhi claimed the tribal population in Gujarat which is Modi’s home state and the whole country is suffering from issues like rising inflation, unemployment, low remumberation, loss of land, violence against women and other atrocities. She highlighted the Congress manifesto and said it addresses issues faced by the tribal population.

She assured the people that the Congress will bring schemes like MGNREGA for urban areas where families will get 100 days of guaranteed work. She said the Congress is committed to filing about 30 lakh vacancies in government jobs, providing subsidised diesel to fishermen and take the minimum wage to Rs 400. Gandhi said the Congress is going to work out sub plans for Scheduled Tribes and scheduled castes.

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