Japanese Encephalitis claims three more lives, toll climbs to 48

Malkangiri: Japanese Encephalitis on Wednesday claimed three more lives, raising the toll to 48 Malkangiri district even as the mosquito control drive was intensified in the tribal district.

The death toll due to Japanese Encephalitis, which stood at 45 on Tuesday, climbed to 48 with the death of three children at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the district headquarters hospital here, Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) US Mishra said.

While deceased have been identified as Subham Nayak of Durgaguda village and Rama Madhi (4) of Urmala village under Kalimela block, the identity of another deceased is yet to be ascertained.

While 15 children have been discharged from the hospital after being cured, as many as least 61 patients are undergoing treatment at the district headquarters hospital with five of them in the ICU, Malkangiri District Collector K Sudarshan Chakravarthy said.

Cooked food is being given from 479 anganwadi centres in Kalimela and Korakonda blocks to pregnant and lactating women and the ailing children, the Collector said.

Arrangements have been made to provide accommodation as well as lunch and dinner to them in the affected villages, he said, adding that the objective was to tackle the problem of malnutrition by providing nutritious food.

Also read: Japanese Encephalities: Malkangiri limping back to normalcy

While more than 12,000 mosquito nets have so far been distributed among the people in the affected areas, fogging and spraying of repellents have been intensified to check the mosquito menace, the Collector said.