83 Children Die Within 2 Weeks in Muzaffarpur as Bihar Reels Under Acute Encephalitis
Hundreds of children in Muzaffarpur in Bihar have been killed in the last two decades due to suspected disease. This disease, known by the name of the skin of the disease in the locals, raises its head in May every year and lives in many children.
This year too, there has been widespread harassment of AES (Acute Encephalitis Syndrome), in which 63 children have died. It is expected that this figure may increase further in the coming times.
Why not find the solution to the disease?
In Muzaffarpur this disease has been targeting children for two decades, but till now no solution has been found. Only in 2014, 390 children were admitted to two hospitals after the disease was hit, out of which 122 died.
There have been 179 suspected AES cases since January this year. The biggest question here is how the syndrome spreads after all? Why is this problem not being solved, while knowing how the disease is happening.
In 2017 the causes of the disease were known
The famous science magazine Lancet Global had raided in 2017 that due to eating more leeches in an empty stomach, this disease is caused to children. It was revealed after nearly three years of research. This research was done by a joint effort by scientists from India and USA.
According to scientists, in litchi, there is poisonous element called hypoglycein A and methylenexycloplipylgicin. The investigation of the blood and urine of most of the children admitted in the hospital revealed that they contained the amount of these elements. Most of the sick people did not eat the evening meal and in the morning there was a lot of litchi ditch. In such a situation, the effect of these elements is more fatal.
The Bihar government also issued Advisory on 12th June, claiming the cause of the disease Lechi. A team of 7 people has reached Muzaffarpur on June 12 from the Central Government and is investigating the cause of the death in depth.
However in the report so far, it has been found that the children who died due to this disease used to drink leech all day long. Their parents say that almost all the villages in the district have litchi plantations and children play there only in the day. The children who died due to this disease were not eating too much food, due to which the hypoglycemia was increasing in their body.
More Threat to Malnourished Children
Due to malnutrition in children and the illness due to earlier illness, it also increases the risk of disease by eating more lechi. Most of the deceased children are from extremely poor families, who roam in the litchi gardens since morning and eat lechi from there. Doctors also advised the children of the area to take a limited amount of litchi and take balanced food before that.
Sugar level is less dangerous
For children who are not taking nutritious food or those who do not get enough food, this is the reason for the death of Litchi. In this case children are becoming hypoglycemia.
This is happening because litchi is found to contain methylene cyclopropyl glycine, which directly affects the brain when the sugar level decreases in the body. The lack of sugar level can also be due to hunger or not getting nutritious food.
The investigation of the children's urine sample has also revealed that two-thirds of sick children had the same toxic element in the body, which is found in litchi seeds. This poisonous element is the highest in the least ripe or raw litchi.
Due to acute encephalitis syndrome the fever goes on in the brain due to which the patient also goes to coma several times. Due to heat, malnutrition and humidity, this disease increases very rapidly and shows its effect.
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