Encephalitis kills 25 in Siliguri

An encephalitis syndrome is looming large over West Bengal, claiming the lives of 25 people so far, an leaving another 70 in hospital.

Over the past few days, the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) near Siliguri under Darjeeling district has been flooded with patients complaining of encephalitis symptoms.

According to health department official at least 100 patients with suspected encephalitis were under treatment at different hospitals across north Bengal, especially in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts. He added that the figure was increasing everyday.

The father of an admitted patient, Nirmal Roy said that lot of people have died due to sudden outbreak of fever.

"I have heard that lot of people are dying because of this fever. I am also scared about my son," said Roy on Thursday (July 17).

Meanwhile, the hospital authorities denied commenting on the death cases.

Encephalitis is an acute inflammation of the brain and can de due to both viral and bacterial infections. Japanese encephalitis, which is caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus, is more prevalent in the region than other forms of the illness.

Symptoms include high fever, convulsion and frigidity around the neck area. There is no specific treatment for the disease.

The mosquito-borne disease can cause fever, convulsions and coma and is more likely to kill children than adults.

The virus affects membranes around the brain and usually causes mild symptoms, but can lead to high fever, brain damage, coma and death. It is the leading cause of childhood encephalitis and viral encephalitis in Asia.

In 2005, the country's worst encephalitis outbreak in nearly 30 years claimed over 1,500 lives.

There is no specific cure for the mosquito-borne disease that has killed thousands in India since 1978.