Six children in Bihar’s Gaya are suspected to have died of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) in a week.
Twenty-two children were admitted to Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College in Gaya of which six died.
However, it is not yet confirmed if the deaths were AES cases.
“It is being told that this might be the case of AES but it is yet to be confirmed, reports are awaited, it will be ascertained after that,” Medical Superintendent VK Prasad told IANS.
More than 160 children died of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome in the state in the last one month, with at least 142 deaths being reported from Muzaffarpur district alone.
121 deaths were reported at the government-run Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH), while 21 deaths have been confirmed at the private Kejriwal Hospital.
According to the Bihar State Health Department, more than 700 children have been affected by AES this time in 20 of the 38 districts.
The state government, meanwhile, has accepted before the Supreme Court that the overall human resources available in the health system is not as per standard norms and that the health department is taking steps to recruit medical officer, para-medicals and other technical support.
The government admitted 43 per cent shortage of doctors and 70 per cent together for nurses and ANMs in the state.