Doctors on Monday attend to a child admitted in Kejriwal Maternity Clinic. Picture by Lokesh Bihari

The district administration has requested the principal secretary, health, Deepak Kumar to look at the possible efforts to treat ailing children in the adjoining districts.

Following requests by Shri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) superintendent G.K. Thakur, district magistrate (DM) Anupam Kumar alerted his counterparts of East Champaran, Vaishali, Sitamarhi, Sheohar and Samastipur districts to facilitate medical aid and treatment to the affected children at their hospitals and primary health centres (PHCs).

The admission of patients from the adjoining districts to the SKMCH and Kejriwal Maternity Clinic is creating problems to accommodate the affected children. At present, there are 39 patients admitted to the SKMCH and Kejriwal Maternity Clinic from East Champaran and adjoining districts.

“The delay in admission to the SKMCH and Kejriwal Maternity Clinic from the adjoining districts has increased the death toll. Encephalitis experts are of the view that most of the affected children who got admitted late to the hospitals or wasted precious time at home for want of medical treatment died,” Anupam said.

The district magistrate claimed that of the 121 patients, 65 patients have been cured at the PHCs and additional PHCs. These centres have been provided the infrastructure, medical gadgets and doctors round the clock with medicines.

The official death toll of affected children has crossed 70. Till now, 268 children have been admitted to the hospitals.

Deputy superintendent of the SKMCH Sunil Shahi said: “We are in a tight spot in the wake of huge rush of patients to facilitate beds at the paediatric intensive care units. There were 80 beds in the four units and all the beds are full. The health officials are now concentrating to accommodate the patients in the children ward. Eight beds in the intensive care unit of the surgery ward have been also put up to accommodate affected children.”

The administrator-cum-PRO of Kejriwal Maternity Clinic, Anirudh Kumar Mukherjee, said: “We are struggling to accommodate the rush of patients. In general, there are 40 beds in the children ward. But the management is now accommodating encephalitis patients into vacant beds of the clinic.”

Encephalitis experts from Centre of Disease Control, Atlanta, US, James Xavier and John D. Thomas treating the patients objected access to visitors inside the paediatric intensive care units.

The district administration has tightened its belt to restrict entry of visitors inside the paediatric intensive care units of the SKMCH to curb chances of infections.

The SKMCH superintendent, G.K. Thakur, said: “Only the VIP visitors would be provided access inside the paediatric intensive care units.”