Muzzafarpur continues to grapple with Encephalitis, death toll rises to 80

Agencies
June 16, 2019

Bihar, Jun 16: With three more deaths reported from Muzaffarpur due to Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), the death toll in the district mounted to 80 on Sunday as Bihar continues to grapple with the deadly disease.

Sunil Kumar Shahi, Superintendent at the government hospital Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) today confirmed three more deaths due to Encephalitis Syndrome in the hospital.

Doctors claim that the deaths, due to AES, are being caused due to excessive heat and humidity. Scorching heat on Saturday claimed the lives of least 25 people from various districts of the state on Saturday.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan arrived in the state capital today to review public health measures for containment and management of the AES.

Vardhan had previously said that the Centre was constantly monitoring the situation and supporting state health authorities to manage the encephalitis cases.

The minister was greeted here with black flags displayed by workers of the Jan Adhikar Party Loktantrik (LJP) who shouted slogans against him.

Meanwhile, on Sunday attendants of patients admitted to the SKMCH alleged that there were no doctors on call during the night.

"My daughter is in the ICU room of SKMCH. The death toll is increasing day by day. There were no doctors after 12 in the night and only nurses are here. There are four bodies inside ICU," Mohammad Aftab told ANI.

Another attendant, Sunil Ram said, "My four-year-old daughter was admitted to hospital on Saturday. She was declared dead today. There is no facility in SKMCH."

In the wake of the fatalities, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to families of the children who died due to AES in Muzaffarpur. He also gave directions to the health department, district administration and doctors to take necessary measures to fight the disease.

Earlier, Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey said the state government is doing its best to save children.

"We are trying everything and anything that can save children's lives. Everything is being made available from medicines to doctors. We have even called doctors and nurses from AIIMS in Patna," he said.

"There is a protocol regarding what kind of medicines and facilities should be given and we are doing the same. We are monitoring things regularly and trying to save our children," Pandey said.

Recalling the situation that prevailed five years ago, Pandey said a team that was formed to ascertain the cause of this disease concluded that sleeping empty stomach at night, dehydration due to humidity and eating lychee on empty stomach were some of the causes of Encephalitis.

"Our government has tried to spread awareness which will be beneficial as well. Advertisement in newspapers, radio jingles, pamphlets and mic announcements are going to spread awareness regarding the disease. Health ministry is also working on it," he said.

Encephalitis is a viral disease, which causes mild flu-like symptoms such as high fever, convulsions and headaches and has been claiming lives in the district for the past few weeks.

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News Network
April 8,2020

Jamnagar, Apr 7: A 14-month-old baby boy, who had tested positive for coronavirus in Gujarat's Jamnagar district on April 5, died of multiple organ failure on Tuesday, said officials.

The toddler, son of a migrant labourer-couple having no recent travel history, died in the evening at a government hospital in Jamnagar, said an official release.

He was in a critical condition ever since he was admitted to the hospital, it said.

The boy, who tested positive for coronavirus two days ago, was as on ventilator support and eventually died due to multiple organ failure, said the release.

He becomes the youngest patient to succumb to COVID-19 in Gujarat, where the death toll has now gone up to 16.

The baby was the first and the only case of coronavirus infection so far in entire Jamnagar district and the youngest to be diagnosed with the disease in Gujarat.

Ever since he tested coronavirus positive, the authorities had been tracing the source of his infection.

His parents are from Uttar Pradesh and work as casual labourers in factories in the port city.

His parents, who have no travel history in the recent past, are asymptomatic (not showing symptoms) and kept under quarantine, officials said.

The locality where the couple resides in Dared village near Jamnagar city has been put under complete lockdown to check the spread of the virus, they said.

Gujarat has so far recorded 175 coronavirus positive cases and 16 fatalities.

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News Network
June 5,2020

Jun 5: Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his wife Mahzabeen have tested positive for COVID-19, a top government source told CNN News 18. They were admitted to the Army Hospital in Karachi.

Some of Dawood's personal staff and guards have also been quarantined, the report said on Friday.

Dawood was the mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai blasts and is one of the most-wanted gangsters by India. He has allegedly been living in Pakistan but the neighbouring country has always refusing to accept it.

Earlier in the day, a senior diplomat of the American embassy in Pakistan has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, a media report said.

In a statement, the embassy's spokesman said that while maintaining the privacy, the name of the citizen would not be disclosed.

The US State Department is responsible to protect its citizens, wherever they are, the spokesman added. In coordination with the Pakistani authorities, the consulate is working to enforce the coronavirus protocol in order to stem its spread. The spokesman added that isolation wards, contact tracing and quarantine facility are part of such protocols.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has 89,249 COVID-19 cases and the death toll is 1,838.

 

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Agencies
February 26,2020

Hyderabad, Feb 26: Hyderabad Police on Tuesday registered a case against well-known poet Imran Pratapgarhi for his statement asking why there was "no Shaheen Bagh in Hyderabad".

According to Charminar Police, the complaint was registered by Sub-Inspector S Guruswamy, who was on duty at the QQ Stadium on February 24 where an Ehtaji Mishaira (Poetry Program) against the Citizenship Amendment Act, National Register Commission and National Population Register was held.

Permission for the said event was granted by Hyderabad Additional Commissioner of Police to the program organisers with certain guidelines including that poetry program should be held on February 24 from 6 pm to 9 pm, and no speaker should give provocative speeches in the program.

However, police said that the program was started by the organisers at 6 pm and continued till 9:48 pm even after police officers asked them to end the event by 9 pm. The program was attended by around 3,000 members at QQ stadium.

According to police, while addressing the meeting Pratapgarhi said: "Mujhe hairath hai us Hyderabad mein koi Shaheen Bagh kyu nahi hai (I am surprised why there is no Shaheen Bagh in Hyderabad)", which is "provocative" and may cause fear to any section of the public.

In this regard, a case has been registered against organisers for disobeying public servants' orders and the poet has been booked for delivering provocative statements under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Further investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Mohammed Ali Shabbir took to Twitter to condemn the police action.

"Hyderabad Police booked a case against poet Imran Pratapgarhi for expressing surprise on why there is no Shaheen Bagh in Hyderabad. For police, this sentence is provocative. Is Shaheen Bagh not a part of India?," Shabbir tweeted.

"Shame on TRS Government and Hyderabad Police for targeting a poet for no-fault," he added.

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