Gaya encephalitis: A man-made misfortune?

vIndianz.com (30 Oct, 2009) — Over the past month, 30 kids have died of encephalitis in the Gaya district of Bihar. The fatal ailment, which is mosquito borne, typically affects little children existing in rural areas, correctly following the rains.

This is not the first time the illness has struck Gaya, but the problem is, will it be the final?

“Now and then his condition gets better, occasionally it worsens, the doctors are not saying anything,” says Bhanwari Devi, whose four-year-old son Jitu is in hospital, fighting for life.

For the past month, three doctors have managed the show here, obviously beleaguered by the sheer number of patients in the ward.

“This is not a regular circumstances, I have requested the system to provide additional doctors and nurses lots of times,” said Dr Ajay Kishore Ravi, Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Magadh Medical College.

Forty kilometers away from the most central town, Dukhni Devi is still to get over her eight-year-old granddaughter’s loss.

In the village, there is fury; there is no consciousness, no fogging, and definitely no assistance from the administration. Now, the government says a gigantic immunization programme will be launched in the district next month.

“I concur that if we launched the immunization a month ago we could have saved some lives, but these are all speculations,” said Krishan Kumar Singh, civil surgeon, Gaya.

On the ground, it is clear that not just are the circumstances disturbing, but the uninterested approach of the government means that this cruel cycle of death and disease will almost certainly recur itself year after year in Gaya.

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Gaya encephalitis: A man-made misfortune?

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