SC seeks reply from Bihar, UP, Centre

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 24

As more than 125 children have died of suspected acute encephalitis syndorme (AES) in Muzaffarpur (Bihar), the Supreme Court today asked the Bihar Government and the Centre to file affidavits within a week on adequacy of medical facilities, nutrition and sanitation/hygiene in the state.

A Vacation Bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna sought a similar affidavit from the Government of Uttar Pradesh, where Gorakhpur and its adjoining districts had been affected by AES in the recent past.

“This is a serious matter. Deaths can’t keep happening. We need definite answers,” said the Bench, which also included Justice BR Gavai, and posted the matter for further hearing after 10 days.

During the hearing, the Bihar Government submitted that it was taking all necessary steps to control the spread of the disease and that the situation was under control now.

The order came on a PIL filed by advocate Manohar Pratap seeking direction to the Centre to intervene and urgently send a team of medical experts to Muzaffarpur for treatment of children suffering from the disease.

He also sought direction to the Centre to provide all necessary medical help and support for effective treatment of children suffering from AES and a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family of each child who died due to negligence of the state machinery.

Symptoms of AES include high fever, convulsions and extremely low blood sugar levels. Among the factors said to trigger the syndrome are malnutrition. Patients often report acute onset of fever and altered consciousness, with a rapidly deteriorating clinical course, leading to death within hours. Litchis grown in Muzaffarpur (India’s largest cultivation region for the fruit) are said to contain a toxin that can cause drop in blood sugar levels if consumed by a malnourished child.

“The deaths of children are a direct result of negligence and inaction on the part of the respective state governments of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Union of India in handling the epidemical situation that arises every year due to outbreak of AES also called Japanese encephalitis,” the plea alleged.

The petition also sought a direction to the Bihar Government to issue an order asking all the private medical institutions in the affected area to provide free-of-cost treatment to all AES patients.

Probe ministers’ negligence: CJM

• A Bihar court on Monday ordered a probe into charges of negligence against Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey in connection with over 125 AES deaths in Muzaffarpur
• Fixing June 28 as the next date of hearing, CJM Suryakant Tiwari ordered the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate to probe the charges based on a case filed by activist Tamanna Hashmi  IANS