Health Minister to visit Encephalitis-hit Gorakhpur

More than 450 children have died of Japanese Encephalitis in the last three months in Gorakhpur. The country's Health Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, will visit this district in UP today for the first time since the outbreak was reported. It allegedly took an intervention by Rahul Gandhi to prompt Mr Azad's tour.

Uttar Pradesh's chief minister, Mayawati, has not visited the area either.

KP Kushwaha, chief paediatrician at the BRD Medical College, has described this as one of the worst outbreaks of encephalitis in the impoverished region, which borders Nepal.

"The situation is grim and the epidemic is worse than previous years and with so many patients there are no empty beds at the hospital," Khuswaha said.

"Everyday between 30 and 40 patients are being brought in for treatment," he said.

He said more than 2,400 patients have been admitted to government hospitals in the region so far this year. At the overcrowded hospital, patients can be seen lying two to a bed.

Eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh are ravaged by encephalitis each year as malnourished children succumb to the virus, officials say.

Encephalitis causes brain inflammation and can result in brain damage. Symptoms include headaches, seizures and fever.

Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state, has been struggling for years with an encephalitis prevention programme, vaccinating millions of children against the virus.