Encephalitis kills at least 430 in India

FE Team | Published: October 16, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

NEW DELHI, Oct 15 (AFP): At least 430 people, mainly children, have died from an outbreak of encephalitis in a deeply neglected region of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, officials said Saturday. KP Kushwaha, chief paediatrician at the BRD Medical College in the state's hardest-hit Gorakhpur district, said it was 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. "We count such cases since January but most of these casualties have occurred since July."